Children of Time
by Jaxin88
Summary: The universe is saved, the Crucible is destroyed, and the Doctor and Rose are married. So why does the Doctor have a sneaking suspicion that something still isn't right? Sequel to The Stolen Plot.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: It's been ages, but I somehow survived the Semester From Hell, and I finally have time to write for fun again. I've got plenty more of this planned, but for now I'll be uploading a chapter a day (I've got a few more chapters already post on my Tumblr, if you want to read ahead). Happy holidays!**

**P.S.- this is the sequel to The Stolen Plot, so you'll need to read that one first.**

Chapter 1

ΘΣ

The Doctor blinked his eyes open as he woke, his awareness of the empty bed slowly creeping in. He sat up and yawned, rolling his neck. Rose hadn't come to bed last night, and he never slept as well without her there. Well, he never slept all that well in general, but when she was there, his nightmares somehow faded away. He frowned at the empty space where she was supposed to be as if it had personally insulted him.

The door creaked open and Rose slipped in, a loose dressing gown around her shoulders. He noticed the way it dragged on the floor and grinned. "Oi! You've got one of your own, you know." She jumped and looked up quickly, her brown eyes wide. He frowned. Rose shouldn't look nervous around him. "Rose? What is it, love?" He sent her a tentative mental wave of worry and comfort and reeled back, disoriented, as she slammed her mental walls up. "Rose?"

"I made breakfast. You should go get some before it gets cold." With that, she grabbed a set of clothes and ducked into their bathroom.

The Doctor dressed slowly, but the bathroom door remained stubbornly closed. With a sigh, he headed to the kitchen. A full breakfast was spread out on the table, tea and scones and fried mushrooms and sausages and eggs. He blinked. "Blimey, Rose. How long were you in here?"

There was a knock at the door, and Donna's voice drifted through the wood. "If you two are in there, you'd better get your bits covered before I come in."

He sighed. "No worries, Donna. It's just me."

She peered around the door before she entered, wrapped in a fluffy purple robe. "Where's Rose, then?"

He grabbed a plate and began filling it, a pout tugging at his lower lip. "In the bathroom. She barely spoke to me this morning." He stared down at his eggs, his shoulders slumped. "I don't think she's happy here, Donna."

Donna snorted into her coffee. "Oh, please. Don't be daft." She set her mug down and glanced up at him as she spread jam on her scone, her eyes narrowing. She took a bite and pursed her lips at him. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"She's been so closed off, Donna. Every time I'm near her, she finds somewhere else to be. I can barely hear her anymore, up here." He tapped his forehead. "D'you think… do you think she regrets coming back?"

"I think you're gettin' your knickers in a wad over nothing. I've only ever seen one person as crazy about another as Rose is about you—an' that's you, about her." She shrugged and bit into her mushrooms. "Everybody has off days once in a while, Doctor."

He scowled around his mouthful. "Rose shouldn't, though. She should only have happiness."

Donna raised her eyebrows at him. "Yeah, that attitude's going to help. Let her be, Doctor. Don't worry about it. I'm sure everything'll be back to nauseating normal soon."

The kitchen door swung open and Rose entered, a large jumper hanging loose over her black leggings. The Doctor peered more closely at it before blinking. It was one of the heavy wool jumpers he'd been so fond of wearing in his last incarnation. She smiled weakly at them. "Morning, Donna." She glanced at the Doctor as she sat at the table, getting herself a cup of tea. "Mickey called—he invited us to his and Martha's engagement dinner, but he said we shouldn't consider it so much an invitation as a summons."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Blimey, already? Mickey moves fast, these days. What happened to Tom?"

Donna rolled her eyes. "Oh, that was over ages ago. He'd gotten tired of seeing Martha so little, so he told her he needed some space for them to figure out their relationship." She pursed her lips. "Said space apparently included the pretty nurse that had been travelling with 'im all over the world."

The Doctor nearly choked on his eggs. "_Whud?_" He swallowed hastily at the amused look Donna and Rose shared.

The redhead shrugged. "I know, right? Bloke obviously doesn't know what's good for 'im. Martha's okay, though. They'd been havin' troubles for a while, and Mickey really helped her."

The Doctor snorted. "Yeah, I bet he did." He paused, his fork waiting in front of his lips. "Are they still working with Jack?"

"Yup. Her mum's not too happy about them livin' all the way off in Cardiff, but she's made her peace with it. She's angrier at Tom than Martha was, really, so she's practically adopted Mickey."

Rose let out a little sigh, smiling crookedly. "Good for him. He's really missed bein' part of a family." She finished her tea and stood, setting it in the sink. "He and Martha deserve each other, an' I can't think of a bigger compliment than that." She glanced down at herself and sighed. "Well, if we're headed to a party I might as well change."

At that, she left, and the Doctor turned to Donna, stricken. "What if that's it?"

She frowned at him. "What if what's what, spaceman?"

"You heard what she said. What if she's missing her family?" He ran a hand through his hair distractedly. "I'd move planets for Rose, but that… that's impossible."

Donna sighed. "Rose is right. You really are too fond of that word." When he scowled at her, she rolled her eyes and set her coffee cup down. "Rose said it best herself, first night back here. That's for her to decide, Doctor. She left her family to find you, yeah, and she'll probably always miss them, but it was _her decision_. Don't try to take that away from her." She stood and put her dishes away, ruffling his hair affectionately. "I swear, you're the thickest genius I've ever met. Now go get dressed, we've got a dinner to go to."

The Doctor frowned, clearing off the table. "Why don't people ever get that this is a TIME machine? Honestly, we could spend a month on the resort planet of Fiilx and still show up on schedule."

"Yeah, we could try that, but Martha would know somehow." The Doctor grimaced in agreement, and Donna laughed. "Come on, don't look like that. It's a good thing. She keeps you on your toes."

The expression on his face was _definitely_ a pout, even if he'd never admit it. "I've got Rose for that, you know."

Donna snorted. "No, you don't. You've got Rose to keep your head in the clouds. There's a difference."

She left for her room, and the Doctor walked slowly to his room. Well, it was supposed to be _their_ room, but Rose had been so distant lately that she hardly spent any time in there. The TARDIS always reassured him that she was alright when she didn't join him, but it didn't make him miss her any less.

He opened the door and found her sitting on the bed, still wearing his jumper, though now she had his dressing gown over it, as well. She sniffed as he came into the room, and he joined her immediately, the bedspread shifting under him as he sat beside her. "Rose? Love, why are you crying?"

She looked up at him, her large brown eyes bloodshot and worried. "I don't know how to do this."

"Do what? Whatever it is, Rose, we'll get through it together."

She chuckled damply at that, but didn't say anything more. He groaned and leaned back, running a hand through his hair. "Rose, what is it? Is it something I did?"

She looked up again, surprised. "No! Well, in a way… it's something _we_ did." She took a shaky breath and pulled the heavy flannel dressing gown tighter around her. "It's just… it's so scary."

He scooted closer to her, taking her hand in his own with a small grin. "Oh, we can handle that. You and I, we eat scary for breakfast." She glared at him, and he backpedaled quickly. "But not this morning, because this morning I had a lovely, well-balanced breakfast."

She wrinkled her nose. "I think there was a bit too much grease for it to count as well-balanced."

"Rose." She looked down, and he caught her chin and raised it back up. "What is it?"

She stared up at him with wide eyes for a moment before screwing them shut as she threw open their mental connection.

The Doctor gasped and jerked backwards, his brown eyes going wide.

Rose pulled her knees up on the bed, wrapping her arms around them. After a long silence, she cleared her throat and spoke in a strained whisper. "Say something? Please?"

The Doctor pulled his mouth shut with a click, swallowing convulsively. "Oh, Rose. Really?"

"Really." She stared at her hands and played with her wedding ring, rotating it around her finger. She blinked when the Doctor's hands wrapped around hers, stopping her fidgeting.

"How long have you known?"

"At first, I just thought it was just some Time Lord change, or maybe my body re-adjusting to the time travel. After all, travellin' through the Vortex would throw anyone's internal rhythm off, an' it's not like I can ask you about Gallifreyan monthlies. I didn't start to suspect somethin' else until a couple weeks ago. I only found out for sure from the TARDIS last week—she thinks I'm a couple months along." She stared up at him, her eyes damp. "I've been trying to figure out a way to tell you since then, but it just… never seemed like the right time."

He smiled suddenly, and it was like the dawn breaking. "How could there be a wrong time? Rose, we're having a _baby_." Looking into his smiling face, Rose burst into tears. He wrapped her in his arms, his mind racing. "What? No, why are you crying? What's wrong?"

She babbled into his shoulder, her words barely intelligible through the sobs. "I was just, I was so _scared_ and I didn't know what to do, and you don't do domestic and there's nothing more domestic than this, and I don't know what a Time Lord pregnancy is going to be like and I never even got the chance to have a human one, and _how_ are we going to raise a child when every other week we're running straight into danger, and I was so scared you weren't going to be happy about this, because I feel like I'm about to explode from happiness half the time and the other half I feel like I'll fall apart from the fear—"

"Shh, love." His hearts twisted in his chest as she sobbed, and he held her even closer, petting her hair as he sent joy and comfort thrumming through their connection. "Oh, Rose, don't be scared." He pulled back and stared into her eyes, red and puffy with tears. "It'll all be fine, Rose. We'll figure this out, I promise."

She choked on a cry and tucked her face back into his shoulder. "Figure it out? You're supposed to know what's going to happen!"

He winced. "Well, Time Lord pregnancies weren't actually all that common on Gallifrey. Almost all children were created in the Looms." He paused, considering. "Actually, the only Gallifreyan pregnancy I've heard of, I couldn't really tell you anything about."

She sniffled. "Why not?"

"Because I was the result." At her wide-eyed stare, he chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. "Let's just say I come by my rebellious tendencies naturally. My mother was determined to learn more about the pregnancy experience, and what better way to do that than to go through it yourself? Made me a bit of a freak to the rest of 'em."

Rose reached out and cupped his cheek, her eyes soft. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"I'm not, actually. It made me who I am." He smiled down at her and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "As for the domestic bit—d'you know why I was so determined to not do domestic, back when we first met?"

"Because it was all so petty and human?"

He blinked. "No. Well, maybe a little. But mostly, it just hurt too much to see everything I couldn't have. But you, you precious girl… you've given me everything I never dreamed I could have."

Rose's breath hitched against his chest, and she raised her head to meet his lips with her own. A few minutes later, she slowly released his lips and tucked her head back against his shoulder. The silence between them was easy, not the strained, awkward thing it had been the past few weeks. When she spoke, her voice was quiet. "I've missed you."

He closed his eyes, holding her tight. "Me too, Rose. I'd never thought I could be so lonely with you just an arm's length away."

She choked out a small, watery gasp at that. "I'm sorry."

He pulled his head back, staring into her eyes. "Don't ever feel you can't talk to me, Rose. You can say _anything_ to me. Rassilon knows I've said pretty much anything to you." He paused and grimaced. "Well, maybe don't tell me if your favorite fruit is secretly pears. Some things I'm better off not knowing."

She giggled damply into his shoulder, relaxing into his arms. After a long moment, she sighed and spoke up. "I should probably go get ready for Mickey and Martha's party. I must look a right mess."

The Doctor tightened his arms around her. "You look beautiful, Rose."

She pushed back from his chest gently, smiling up at him. "You said that when I was covered in muck from the Verkasian sewers, so I'm not sure I trust your judgment."

"Oi! Rose Tyler, I have the very best judgment."

She grinned at him and got up, grabbing a dress from the closet and shaking her head at him as she disappeared into the bathroom again. "That old patchwork jacket from the wardrobe says otherwise. Now go on, we've got a party to go to."

The Doctor headed back to the console room, grumbling to himself. He was finding it very hard to do so convincingly, though, considering the wide grin on his face.

ΘΣ


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

ΘΣ

The Doctor stood with Rose and Donna in Cardiff, staring at the sign above them. "The Rooster and the Hound." He glanced at the others. "Am I the only one that finds it odd that they're having their engagement dinner in a pub?"

Rose giggled. "Mickey knows what he likes." She nudged him in the side. "Besides, we had our wedding reception in a chip shop."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "You have to admit they were good chips."

Donna glanced at them and pursed her lips. "An' it's not like you two actually had a ceremony, just that freaky mind meld thing."

The Doctor looked over Rose's head at her and grinned. "Mind meld? Donna, are you a Trekker?"

She flushed and looked away. "My gramps loves that show, okay? I couldn't help but pick somethin' up."

Rose smiled and leaned against the Doctor's shoulder. "There's nothin' wrong with liking a little Trek, Donna. Spock always was a bit yummy."

The Doctor scowled. "Oi! Trying not to be offended, here!"

She giggled again and leaned up on her toes to give him a quick kiss. "Don't worry, Doctor. I'm quite happy with my own alien."

He caught her before she could step away and kissed her again, closing his eyes as he deepened the kiss. _I'm glad, 'cause you're stuck with me._

Her mind glowed with happiness. _There's nowhere I'd rather be._

A familiar American voice broke into their attention. "Yup, looks like the honeymoon's still going strong."

Rose broke away from the Doctor and jumped into Jack's arms with a squeal. "Jack! Oh, I've missed you."

He spun her around, chuckling. "Missed you, too, sweetheart. How's married life treating you?"

As they chatted happily, Donna edged closer to the Doctor. "D'you want me to say 'I told you so', or should I just smirk?"

He grinned down at her. "Oh, you have no idea."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

As he opened his mouth to reply, a sharp thought came from Rose. _Later, Doctor._

He pouted. _But I want to tell them now._

_Today's about Mickey and Martha. We can wait to tell the others afterwards._

He sighed. "Fine." At Donna's look, he explained. "I've been forbidden to tell you until later."

"The Doctor doing as he was told? Now I've seen everything." The Doctor spun at the familiar voice, sweeping Sarah Jane into his arms.

"Sarah Jane! What are you doing here?"

She laughed into his shoulder. "What, did you think your companions only talk when you're around?" He set her down and ruffled his hair, his ears reddening. She laughed again and gestured to the teenage boy beside her. "You never change, do you? Doctor, this is my son, Luke."

He rocked back on his heels, grinning at the boy. "I've heard a lot about you, Luke. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Someone whistled, and they turned to look at the door of the pub. Mickey was standing there, a wide grin on his face. "Oi! You guys actually going to come in, or should we have the party outside?"

They followed him into the pub, finding Martha and her family already there with the rest of Torchwood. Rose and Jack joined the Doctor and Donna at a table, and Jack pulled over the neatly dressed young man who'd been standing with a dark-haired woman and her husband at the bar. He took a deep breath. "Rose, Doctor—and Donna, of course—this is Ianto Jones. Ianto, these are the Doctor, Rose, and Donna."

Ianto inclined his head. "I remember. Might I say, it's a pleasure to finally meet you all in person? Jack's told us quite a lot about you."

The Doctor winced. "Should we be worried?"

A mischievous spark showed in the young man's eyes, though his tone was still bone-dry. "Only if I cared about the clothing habits on… where was it? Oh, yes. Mulvynne VII."

The Doctor's jaw dropped and he turned to Jack, his brown eyes wide. "Jack, you _told_ him about that? But you promised!"

Jack's grin widened. "Who says I told him? Maybe he just happened to find a picture."

Rose squeaked, a deep flush spreading over her face. "You've got _pictures?_ Can I have some?"

The Doctor pointed a finger at her. "No." Donna opened her mouth, and he pointed at her. "_No_." Jack smirked, and the Doctor scowled at him. "Don't say a word."

Donna grinned at Jack. "Well, it looks like his Time Lordliness is a bit full of himself tonight. Shall we get him drunk?"

Jack's answering grin was positively wicked. "I think we shall." They dragged him away, protesting, and left Rose with Ianto.

She smiled at him, her tongue poking out from between her teeth. "So, you an' Jack, huh?"

He flushed a little and straightened his cuffs, looking a bit wistful. "For now, yes."

She reached out and laid a hand on his arm, softening her smile. "That wasn't a 'for now' look on his face, when he introduced us. I've known Jack for years—centuries, on his end—and that looked an awful lot like 'forever'."

Ianto's face stilled, and he watched Rose intently. A happy voice broke into the silence, and Martha walked over to them and enveloped her in a hug. "Rose! There you are, I've been lookin' for you. Come on, I wanted you to meet my family." She leaned closer as they made their way across the bar, her voice low and amused. "Leo's been teasing me about the Doctor for years now—I figure if he meets you, he'll finally stop. You don't mind, do you?"

Rose snickered. "Nah, not at all. Sounds like my old mate Jake, actually." Her smile faded a bit, and Martha smiled a little awkwardly.

"Mickey talks about him, sometimes. He sounded like a good bloke."

"He was, yeah. Is." A small girl with thick, riotous curls ran up and clamped onto Martha's leg, and Rose smiled. "Who's the little one?"

Martha groaned. "_This_ is my pest of a niece, Keisha." She ruffled a hand through the girl's hair as she shook her head.

Keisha rested her chin against Martha's trouser-clad led, narrowing large brown eyes at her aunt. "'M not a pest, I'm a princess."

"Sure you are, love." Martha pursed her lips at the tall young man that hurried over to them. "You and Shonara couldn't find a sitter, or what?"

He swung Keisha up in his arms, grinning at her peal of laughter. "Come off it, Martha, you know she adores you. She didn't want to be left behind."

"And I adore her—but this is a _pub_." She glanced over at the bar. "And it looks like Donna and Jack are competing to see who can get drunk faster." She winced as Jack pulled something from the pocket of his overcoat. "Oh, for god's sake, he brought the hypervodka."

The bloke sighed. "We'll keep an eye on her, Martha, I promise."

Keisha squealed. "Don't want an eye on me! Eyeballs are _gross_."

Rose laughed, and Martha looked at her and blinked. "Oh, sorry—Rose, this is my brother Leo. Leo, this is the Doctor's wife, Rose."

He raised his eyebrows, holding onto the wriggling girl in his arms. "Really?" Martha scowled at him, and he coughed. "I mean, 's nice to meet you. I'd shake your hand, but…" Keisha kicked against his side, and he winced. "I think I'd better drop her off with her mum before it gets worse."

Rose grinned. "No worries, I understand. Nice meeting you."

"Same." He hurried off through the crowd, looking frantically for his girlfriend, and Rose bit her lip against laughter.

"How'd they even get her in here?" Martha sighed and turned away. "Oh, well. D'you want a drink?"

Rose's hand drifted to her stomach, and she smiled. "Nah, I'm good." Martha raised her eyebrows, and she blushed. "We had breakfast just before we popped in—I'm still full, is all."

Martha still looked suspicious, so Rose let out a breath when Sarah Jane joined them, her voice light and amused. "So, is the good Captain Harkness always like that? I could've sworn I just saw him flirting with the houseplants." They looked over at the bar where Jack and Donna were still forcing drinks on the Doctor, wide grins on both their faces. Gwen and Rhys had joined in, chanting encouragement at the Doctor as Jack shoved a bright green drink into his hand.

Rose raised her eyebrows as they burst into laughter while he gagged at the taste. "Would you describe that as cackling?"

Martha tilted her head thoughtfully. "I'd say it's more chortling, myself. I think I'd better go rescue the Doctor before they make him drink the whole bar." She hurried off, and Rose hugged Sarah Jane.

"It's so good to see you! How've you been?"

"Rather busy, but good." Sarah Jane smiled as she watched Luke, deep in conversation with Ianto. "Travelling with the Doctor, I always knew life could be utterly mad. I just never expected how much my life would change once I decided to stay here on Earth."

Rose watched the content look on Sarah Jane's face as she watched her son. "You didn't have him when we met you at Deffrey Vale, did you?" As she shook her head, Rose bit her lip. "What's it like, being a parent?"

"Oh, utterly terrifying. It's harder than anything I've ever done, but it's also more rewarding. I look at Luke, and no matter how hard it gets, trying to make the world a better place, it's worth it. Because I'm making it a better place for _him_."

Over at his table, Luke choked on his fizzy drink as Jack and Mickey started singing filthy limericks together. Ianto just chuckled and offered a napkin.

ΘΣ

A couple hours later Rose was sitting in a well-padded booth, Keisha asleep in her arms. Jack had created a drinking game involving the underwear of past prime ministers, and he and Gwen were facing off against Leo and Shonara in the final round—of course, the younger two had no idea that the captain had the questionable advantage of experience. Ianto and Donna were leaning against the bar together, deep in conversation when she wasn't cheering raucously for the Torchwood team.

Mickey slid into the opposite side off the booth, a wide grin on his face. "Bet I know what you're thinkin'."

Rose smiled at him, cuddling the snoring girl closer. "Oh, yeah? What's that?"

He nodded at Keisha. "You're thinkin', 'I've got to get me one of those'."

She flushed. "I don't know what you're talkin' about."

"Oh, yeah? Martha mentioned somethin' funny earlier—she said you weren't drinkin', was a bit worried you didn't like the place. Now, that got me thinking: I know you like a good pint. An' then I noticed that you haven't had a drop of alcohol tonight, and you've become Keisha's absolute best friend. I remember a time when you used to think all kids were…what'd you call 'em? Oh yeah, evil spawn." He grinned and leaned forward. "So, when's the little Time Tot due?"

She blushed and grinned, looking down. "An' here I was, tryin' to keep the attention on _your_ night." She looked up, biting her lip. "I'm not sure when it's due. I just found out a week ago, and the Doctor says pregnancy was pretty rare on his planet—he doesn't have any experience with it, himself."

Mickey frowned and sipped his ale. "If they didn't have pregnancy, how'd they reproduce?"

"These loom things, he said." She shrugged. "I don't know. But… I guess we're going to find out."

He rested a hand on her arm across the table. "Are you okay with it, Rose?"

"Yeah, I am. I'm terrified, but I really am." She looked across the pub and caught the Doctor's eye as he chatted with Sarah Jane, letting her contentment wash into their connection. His eyes softened, and he smiled almost shyly back at her.

Mickey leaned his chin on his fist, grinning a little. "God, you guys are revolting." He glanced over at Martha, who nodded meaningfully at Rose. "Actually, I came over here for a reason, Rose. I was going to ask you when I rang this morning, but Martha thought it'd be better in person."

Rose raised her eyebrows. "Ask me what?"

He took a deep breath. "Well, my life's changed a lot in the last few years. I'd never have thought I could be where I am when we were growin' up on the estate, but there's one thing that's still the same—you're still one of my best mates. Rose, would you do me the honor of bein' my best woman?" Rose gasped as the bar erupted in cheers—Jack and Gwen had apparently won the game—and Mickey cringed as she began to tear up. "Oh, god, why're you cryin'?"

The Doctor materialized at her elbow, looking worried. "Rose? Are you all right?"

"'M fine." She reached over and grabbed Mickey's hand, and he winced at the tight grip. "Mickey, I'd love to."

He grinned. "Good." After a moment, his face screwed up. "Can I have my hand back now?"

"Oh! Sorry, sorry—" She released his hand and he shook it out, grimacing. She blushed. "I forget about the whole Time Lady strength thing, sometimes."

The Doctor slipped into the booth next to her, watching her cuddle Keisha with a soft smile. At that, though, he blinked and looked up. "Technically, you'd still be considered a Time Lord."

Rose raised an eyebrow and waved a hand at herself. "Despite me bein', y'know, female?"

"Oh, yes. We didn't really bother with that whole gender binary thing on Gallifrey—it's a bit useless, when you think about it."

Someone cleared their throat over by the bar and they turned to see Jack standing there, the amber liquid in his glass sloshing a little as he raised it for a toast. "To Mickey and Martha! Here's to having a long and happy life together, saving the world and each other." He winked. "And looking damn good, doing it."

As the crowd cheered and drank, he raised his glass again. "And here's to the Children of Time!"

The Doctor yelped and raised his voice indignantly. "Rose! I thought we weren't going to tell them yet!"

Donna choked on her drink, and Jack's jaw dropped. Sarah Jane's eyes widened in sudden understanding, and Martha looked smug. Mickey, on the other hand, just snorted and took another drink.

It was then that the back wall of the pub blew out.

ΘΣ


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

ΘΣ

The Doctor had his sonic screwdriver out in moments, and as uniformed figures stormed into the pub, he released the table from its leg. As Mickey charged out to find Martha, the Doctor flipped the table up to block the booth. He pulled Rose under its cover, his dark eyes blazing. "Stay here."

"No! I can help, Doctor, you know I can!"

She struggled against him, and he rested his forehead against hers. "Rose, _please._ You've got to keep them safe."

Keisha had awoken at the blast and was huddled against Rose, sobbing her heart out. The Doctor's eyes lowered to her belly, and Rose gasped in a harsh breath, coughing in the dusty, debris-filled air. She nodded once, miserably, and he pressed his lips to hers for a quick, hard kiss and was gone.

The pub was emptying quickly, Ianto and Luke guiding the civilians out of the pub. The attackers didn't seem to care about them, instead focusing their firepower on the group of people that were arrayed behind the bar, facing off against the invaders—Jack had grabbed his overcoat before ducking behind the bar, and he had handed out weapons to the others. Sarah Jane was firing a pistol with surprising accuracy next to Gwen, Mickey, Martha, and Jack, and Donna and Rhys were hurling bottles of alcohol at the black-clad assailants' heads.

There was a click and a whine next to the Doctor, and he ducked out of the way just as a blast of sonic energy shot past him, leaving a gaping square hole in the bar. The Doctor's eyes narrowed. A squareness gun? He hadn't seen one of those since—Jack yelped and jumped to the side as one of the invaders blasted a hole in the bar, leaving water to gush from the bisected sink. The Doctor dove behind the bar before jumping up, waving his arms. "Oi! Nasty trigger-happy attackers! Over here!"

Donna's lips curled back in a snarl. "Doctor, what the _hell _do you think you're doing?!"

He winked, sending her a manic grin. "Oh, just wait and see." He yelped and ducked out of the way of a blast from a squareness gun, grinning at the clean-cut hole in the wall just behind him as the lights in bar above them sparked out. "Now _that's_ better. Mickey, some cover fire if you please?"

"Comin' right up, boss."

The Doctor bounced to his feet again, reaching into the gaping hole in the wall and yanking hard at the electrical conduit he found there. With a grunt, he jerked it out of the wall and back below the bar.

Jack gasped in pain as he was clipped in his shoulder, leaving a harsh angle sliced out of his flesh. "Doc! You got any bright ideas?"

Sarah Jane ducked down, tossing her pistol away in disgust. "I'm out of ammo!"

The Doctor was bent over beneath the sink, the sonic screwdriver pressed tightly against the conduit. "I just have to adjust the voltage, and—hah!" He pulled the hose out of the sink and quickly zapped it. "Oh, yes! Now we're in business!" He shot a look at the others. "Stay back—this could get messy."

He dove down and grabbed the conduit, pulling it up to meet the hose. With one last buzz from his sonic screwdriver, he aimed a torrent of electrified water straight at the invaders. The crackle of the electricity mingled with their pained screams, and the smell of singed flesh drifted through the air. They fell to the floor one by one, limbs twitching spasmodically. He shut off the hose and stuffed the conduit back in the wall, hurrying over to the barricaded booth. "Rose? Are you all right?"

She stood carefully, still carrying the sobbing Keisha in her arms. There was a long stain spreading on her dress beneath the little girl, and Rose gave the Doctor a dark look. "_You_ get to do the laundry this week."

He winced. "Sorry. Here, love, would you like to go back to your parents?"

Keisha nodded, tears and snot leaking down her face. The Doctor plucked her from Rose's arms and hurried her past the unconscious attackers to Leo and Shonara, who were waiting nervously outside the door. He cleared his throat, glancing behind him at the smoldering pub. A crowd of people had gathered, all peering into the wreckage. "Erm… gas leak?"

Francine Jones pursed her lips as the others trailed out behind him, Rose shaking out her stained dress with a grimace. Donna glanced at her and snickered, running her hand through her dusty, damp hair. "Might as well get used to it, Rose. I used to babysit for the Varnas down the block, an' their little girl spent the first year of her life barely doin' anything more than oozin' liquids out of one end or the other."

Rose stared at her, aghast, and Donna snorted with laughter. The blonde turned to the Doctor, her eyes still wide. "Less of the pubs from now on, m'kay?" He grimaced and nodded.

Sarah Jane stopped the Doctor, her lips tight. "I'm taking Luke back home, and then I'll see what Mr. Smith can find out about this. Mickey, Martha, I'm so glad for you both—" she stopped and smiled at the Doctor and Rose as Mickey and Martha hurried off with the other Torchwood members. "And for you two, as well. Rose, if you ever need someone to talk to..."

Rose smiled and wrapped her in a hug. "I'll be there in a moment. I'll see you later, Sarah Jane." She elbowed the Doctor in the ribs, and he turned back from contemplating the invaders to give the older woman a hurried smile. "Ah, yes. Goodbye, Sarah."

Mickey and Jack had pulled the invaders out of the pub and stripped them of their weapons as Sarah and Luke left, binding them together with restraints that Martha fetched from the Torchwood SUV. There were four in all, each wearing all-black military uniforms without any sort of insignia.

Jack frowned at the pile of their equipment. There, laying neatly in a row on the cobblestones of Cardiff, were four vortex manipulators.

The Doctor stepped up next to him as Gwen and Ianto set up a barricade around the pub, herding the crowd of spectators back. His voice was low. "Any of this looking familiar, Jack?"

He frowned. "I think you know the answer to that already, Doctor. The question is, what's a team of Time Agents doing setting up an ambush in 21st century Cardiff?"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "You really have to ask?"

"I've been here for over a century by now, Doctor. If they wanted to hunt me down, they could've done it anytime. So why now?"

He turned away from the crowd, his eyes dark. "You know why, Jack. The 21st century is when everything changes, and you're right smack dab in the middle of it." His jaw tightened. "And so was Rose and our child."

Jack's jaw dropped. "So this is _my _fault? Doc, you've got it all wrong. The Time Agency chucked me out the door like so much trash. They haven't paid attention to me in centuries."

The Doctor was opening his mouth to respond when there was a distinctive whine from the window of the destroyed pub, and a curly-haired figure rounded the corner at a sprint and slammed into him, knocking him out of the way of the sonic blast. Jack spun and shot the black-clad Time Agent, jogging over to drag his limp body out of the broken glass.

The Doctor groaned and sat up, reaching a hand up to his head. "Blimey, but that was close." He fingered his hair suddenly, his eyes widening. "Wait—_no!_ That little blighter lopped off my hair!"

Rose had raced to his side as soon as he was knocked down, and she groaned and thumped her head against his shoulder. "There are a bit more important things to worry about, don't you think, Doctor?" She stood and reached out a hand for the Doctor's rescuer. "God, I don't know how to thank you. You saved his life."

The woman smiled and brushed her caramel-colored hair out of her eyes. "Oh, no problem. All in a day's work."

The Doctor stiffened as she spoke, and Donna's eyes widened. He sprang to his feet and spun to face her, his eyes wide. "_River!?_"

ΘΣ

**A/N: Yes, it's River Song. Don't expect her story to be canon-compliant, though—this is the River Song from s4 and no later, with a few twists. I **_**really**_** didn't like what Moffat did to her, poor woman. Canon!River's life **_**sucked.**_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

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River Song blinked up at him, her eyes narrowing warily. She looked young, somewhere near her late twenties. "Do I know you?"

"You will…" he looked back at Rose and caught her hand, his thumb brushing over her wedding band. He tightened his jaw. "No, you _won't_."

River raised a well-groomed eyebrow. "Are you planning on making sense anytime soon?"

Jack had left the last Agent with the others and swept the pub, and he jogged over to rejoin them as the rest of Torchwood loaded the attackers into the SUVs. As he spoke, River paled, a hand flying up to cover her mouth. "Right. Mickey and Ianto are loading up the intruders to take them to the Hub, and it'd probably be best if we joined them. We'd better get out of the open. Thanks for your help, we can take it from here—" he paused as he focused on River. "Wait. I know you. Professor Song, isn't it?"

She lowered her hand, her eyes shining. "I'd say you do." With a sobbing laugh, she threw her arms around him. "Oh, god. It's really you."

Jack met the Doctor's disbelieving eyes and shrugged, hugging her back. "Yup, generally is."

River pulled back and smacked him on the back of the head, her eyes blazing. "Why didn't you let me know where you _were?_ You've been gone for so long." Her anger faded, and she closed her eyes and swallowed, calming herself. "I thought you were dead."

"Yeah, that tends to happen." Jack rubbed his head, wincing. "Tell you what, why don't you come with us to the Hub? I have a feeling we've got plenty to discuss."

She snorted. "As if I'm going to let you out of my sight. I let you go once, James. I'm not going to do it again."

There was a long pause, and the Doctor finally found his voice. "_James?_"

She looked over and finally seemed to notice the others. She raised her chin, straightening her sleek jacket. It shimmered in the streetlights, and the Doctor noted in the back of his mind that that particular material wouldn't be patented for several thousand years. "Yes, _James_. James Bond." She looked back at Jack, and a small, amused smile tilted her mouth. "My husband."

There was a stunned silence, broken by Donna's sudden laughter. She pointed at Jack and doubled over, guffawing helplessly. River frowned. "Is there something funny about that?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Of _course_ you would, Jack. River, was it?" The curly-haired woman nodded, and Rose took her arm with a smile. "Come on, let's go somewhere more comfortable. It's a bit loud out here."

Donna trailed after her, still giggling, and the Doctor began to follow when Jack grabbed his arm. He arched an eyebrow at him. "Yes?"

"Doc. The only time I went by James Bond was at the Agency—the last few years, specifically. I was James Bond until I woke up as no one."

The Doctor pressed his lips together, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. "Sure you were, Jack."

"_I'm not kidding._ Doesn't it seem a little convenient that she showed up just in time to save you?"

He swallowed and ran a hand through his hair, grimacing at the bristle of burnt ends. "She's saved me before, Jack. About a year ago, traveling with Donna, we were called—summoned, actually, cheeky woman—to the Library." Jack's eyes widened, and he nodded. "Exactly. All the people that came back? They came back because of her. She gave her life to bring them back, so that I wouldn't have to. I thought I knew why, then. Knew it, but didn't believe it, not with Rose…" He cleared his throat and frowned. "But Rose blew that theory out of the water, as she so often does."

"What was the reason?"

The Doctor swallowed heavily. "She knew my name, Jack. Well, part of it. When I left Gallifrey, the High Council revoked my right to carry a Gallifreyan name. The name I was born with was bound to me—I can't tell anyone that, literally _can't_, unless it's in the most sacred bond a Time Lord could possibly make." Jack was still watching him, waiting, and the Doctor sighed and spelled it out. "Marriage, Jack. Only my life-mate can ever know my true name."

Jack's eyes narrowed. "But, Rose..."

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair. "Exactly."

The Captain's face darkened. "We need to get her in the Hub with the rest. You bring the TARDIS into my office. I'll drive."

ΘΣ

Jack slipped into the front seat, Ianto stubbornly beside him, and Rose watched River carefully out of the corner of her eye. The mystery woman was watching Jack even as she pretended she wasn't, pain and longing flashing over her face when she thought no one was looking. Rose cleared her throat. "I really can't thank you enough."

River blinked and turned back to her. "Hmm?"

"For savin' my husband, back there. If you hadn't been there..." Rose shuddered, her mind supplying the possibilities in graphic detail. Her stomach revolted, and she rested a hand carefully on her as-yet non-existent bump. "Just... thank you."

River sighed and brushed her riotous hair back. "Oh, it's no problem, sweetie. I've been tracking that particular group for a while, and I've found that most anything they want harmed should really be protected."

Rose raised her eyebrows. "So, that's what you do, then? Trans-temporal sabotage?"

River focused on her—truly focused—for the first time, and smiled crookedly. "Something like that, yes." She shifted in her seat, facing Rose more fully. "I'm sorry, I never got your name."

"It's Rose, Rose Tyler."

She extended an elegantly manicured hand. "Dr. River Song."

Rose took it with a smile. "Well, looks like we've got a surplus of doctors today."

River's gaze sharpened, and Rose caught a minute shake of Jack's head as he glanced back at her in the mirror. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, Martha's a doctor, that's all. My husband, too."

River nodded and glanced back to where Donna was sprawled in the back seat, snoring quietly. "Where is your husband, anyway?"

Jack cleared his throat. "He's meeting us there." River turned to him as he spoke, and Rose bit her lip at the odd mix of despair and hope in the other woman's eyes.

River had kept a close eye on Jack and Ianto, and she forced herself to smile at the quiet young man in the passenger seat. "You know, I didn't catch your name."

He stiffened. "That would be because I didn't give it."

"Oh, don't be like that." She winked flirtatiously at him, but Ianto kept his eyes firmly on the road in front of them as Jack drove them to Torchwood.

Jack glanced sideways at him and cleared his throat. "Professor Song, this is Ianto Jones. I don't know what I'd do without him."

Ianto snorted softly at that, and they settled into a tense silence. Rose signed and leaned her head against the window, closing her eyes and focusing on the Doctor. _So, who is this River Song? And don't pretend you don't know_—_I noticed how you reacted, back there, you and Donna._

His thoughts were thick with discomfort. _We may have... encountered her before. _

She frowned and turned into the heavy, bullet-proof glass. _How come she didn't recognize you, then?_

_I don't think she's met us yet._

_Ooh._ Rose winced._ Non-linear relationship_—_those ones are always tricky. _

She felt a wave of curiosity. _Yes, they are, but how do you know that?_

Rose arched an eyebrow, even though she knew he couldn't see it._ I was searching the timelines for you for a long time, Doctor. I've got some experiences most people don't. _

A flicker of tentative curiosity reached her._ How long?_

She paused and bit her lip. They didn't talk much about the time that they were separated. Rose had a hard time talking about her family to anyone but Mickey—she missed them with an almost physical ache at times—and the Doctor always distracted her from any questions she asked about his time without her with a new adventure or, if Donna was out visiting her family, a thorough snog. Judging from some things Martha had mentioned before abruptly cutting herself off, though, it had been bad—very bad. This was the first time he'd voluntarily brought up their separation.

_Five years._

She felt a ripple of surprise from him. _Mickey's looking good._

_Yeah, well, people tended to take better care of themselves over there. Freaked me out a bit, to be honest. Nobody ever just... relaxed. But that's not what we were talking about, Doctor._

_I'm fairly certain it was._

She rolled her eyes, letting her annoyance pulse through their bond. _Doctor. What happened with River Song, last time you met her? _

She felt the Doctor's reluctance as he piloted the TARDIS to a stop. _Rose... The last time I met River Song, she died._

Her eyes flew open, and she stared over at the curly-haired woman next to her. River noticed her looking, and a small, drained smile appeared on her face. "What? Do I have something on my face? I thought I'd missed the messy part, but oh, well." She smirked at Rose. "Then again, sometimes the messy part's the most fun."

Rose swallowed heavily. "No, you don't have anything."

"Oh, good." River turned away—stubbornly nonchalant, despite the tension in the van—and Rose swallowed heavily and leaned back into the seat, resting her hand on her stomach again.

Sometimes she hated time travel.

ΘΣ


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

ΘΣ

The Hub was a flurry of activity when they arrived, Ianto and Jack leaping out immediately to help Gwen and Mickey transfer the unconscious Time Agents down to the cells. River leapt lightly out of the van as Rose turned back to wake Donna, shaking her gently then leaning hurriedly back. She'd encountered Donna's morning ire too many times on the TARDIS to ever enjoy the task of waking her.

"Donna?" The redhead grumbled loudly and shuffled lower in the seats, and Rose sighed and shook her again. "Donna, they've got to move the van."

"Hgguh." She opened bleary, bloodshot eyes, and Rose winced.

"How 'bout I get you some of the Doctor's hangover cure, shall I?"

"Hyuggg." Donna shuffled onto her other side clumsily, her face pressed against the soft leather seats.

Rose bit back a laugh and wiggled out of the van. "Right, I'll just do that, then."

River was standing stock-still by the door when Rose got inside, her eyes glued to the TARDIS, which was settled comfortably in Jack's office. "That... that's the blue box. The legend itself." The TARDIS' front door creaked open and the Doctor stepped out, running a hand through his shorn hair. River's eyes widened even more. "Oh my god, then he's..." She spun and stared at Rose. "You're pregnant."

The Doctor hurried over as Rose backed away, her hand protectively over her stomach as she stared at River. "Yeah? What's it to you?"

She gasped out a laugh, resting a hand on her forehead. "You have no idea how long I've been searching for you. Gods, they were so_ close_."

"What are you talking about?" The bumbling, jovial Doctor was gone, replaced by the Oncoming Storm. He stood in front of Rose, his arms out to keep her behind him.

River blinked at him, confused, before her eyes widened. "No! I'm not here to hurt you, you or your children. I'm here to help."

Rose frowned and tilted her head. Everything about River's posture, her tone, insisted that she was telling the truth. Rose stepped out from behind the Doctor. "Wait, children? As in plural?"

River winked at her. "Spoilers."

The Doctor's jaw clenched. "How about there be less of that and more actual answers, hmm?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Somebody's cranky today."

"Yes, well, my dear friends' engagement dinner was ruined by an anonymous team of Time Agent goons, and Rose was nearly hurt." He scowled. "And that's without even mentioning the hair."

"Except you just did." He just glared at her, and River sighed. "Oh, all right, if you're going to be like that. We should find somewhere quieter to talk, though—and James should join us."

The Doctor snorted. "Oh, _of course_ he should."

River glared at him. "Yes, it IS _of course_. He's been searching for the Time Lords for nearly as long as I have." She smiled bitterly and glanced back to where Jack was standing next to Ianto, the pair of them ignoring both the TARDIS and the people standing next to it. "Of course, he seems to have had markedly better luck."

Rose's mouth had fallen open, and she shared an incredulous look with the Doctor. "What are you talking about?"

River crossed her arms. "James wasn't just my husband. He was my partner as we were searching for you."

ΘΣ

The door to the cell block closed behind them, and Jack shook his head. "Look, Doc, I understand wanting to talk about the Agency in private, but why couldn't we just pop into the TARDIS? The team knows not to bother me when we're in there." He paused and sighed, grinning a little. "If only that was actually as scandalous as it sounds."

River had been watching him carefully, and she stood. "Right, that's enough. What are you on about, James? Why the_ hell_ are you behaving this way? You've barely even looked at me."

He blinked and watched her warily. "Listen, River, was it? I don't know what sort of a relationship we once had, but I'm not playing around here. This isn't a joke to me." His jaw tightened. "I'm not the person who was your husband."

"Well, you're definitely right about that. He wouldn't keep one of his people guarding me at all times."

"Can ya blame me? I don't know you."

She paled and sat down abruptly on the rough-hewn stone ledge. "Not at all?"

"Sorry, no. I mean, I read your book. It was definitely... interesting." He forced a laugh. "Got more than a few of my buddies a bit riled up."

Her jaw tightened. "Believe me, I remember."

The humor faded from his face. "What did they do to you?"

River crossed her arms. "It's none of your business, apparently."

"Professor Song—"

"Call me River, at least." She sighed and ran a hand across her mouth. "What _happened _to you?"

"I don't know." He lifted his hands at her bewildered look. "I literally don't know. I woke up on Belfos Prime in 5074 with no memory of the past two years and no possessions. It took me seven months to get a hold of a new Vortex Manipulator, and by that time I realized that I wasn't going to get anywhere near the Agency."

She laughed harshly. "They always were good at escaping the consequences."

Rose frowned at Jack. "They must have incredible security, if _you_ weren't able to break in."

River blinked. "Oh, no, sweetie, the Agency isn't in a fixed location. It never has been." She pursed her lips. "With everything they get up to? The Directors would never chance it."

"The Time Agency is more a collective than an institution, Rose." Jack laughed ruefully. "Come to think of it, I have no clue where they get their funding. I don't know if anyone does."

River's voice was quiet. "I do."

Jack blinked. "What? How'd you find out about that?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Same way I do the rest of my work. Research, followed by a healthy amount of exploration."

His lips quirked up. "Sounds thrilling."

"It earned me a price on my head, so yes, I'd say it rather was." She turned to Rose and the Doctor. "The Directors of the Agency weren't very happy with some nosy academic poking around, and after I published my book, they were even less so."

Rose shifted on the cold stone bench, wrapping her arms around herself. The Doctor pulled his jacket off and wrapped it around her shoulders, and she gave him an absent smile before focusing on River again. "What was your book about?"

"The Time Agency, and all the dirty little secrets the Directors didn't want people to know. By the time I'd gotten it published, though, there was more—one of my main sources vanished, but not before she sent me on a new trail, one they _really_ didn't want me on." She tightened her jaw and leaned back against the damp wall.

"They destroyed my credibility, sabotaged my relationships, and hunted me down. When I refused to stop looking, my parents had a mysterious 'accident' while travelling through a dark sector in space, and they were never seen again. They slowly picked apart every part of my life, and then I finally found out why they didn't want me on their trail." She looked up. "Turns out there's a special service the Time Agency can provide, if you're wealthy enough. They've been manipulating history, changing it from what it _should_ be to whatever their investors want. I'd run across evidence for it in my research before, but I hadn't recognized it for what it was. So I started looking for more, more changes that shouldn't have happened, times when history re-set itself. And that's when I started to hear about the Time Lords. At first just one: the healer, the lonely traveler... the Doctor. But then, as I kept looking, I found more. The golden Wolf who always stood at his side. The brilliant children who—" She paused and smiled halfheartedly. "Well, best not talk about them too much. But at least I knew who I had to look for."

River sighed and ran a hand over her curls. "Problem was, they knew, too. Time Lords are completely unknown to most, and to the Time Agents they're only a myth—except for the people in charge. They knew who you were, what you could do, and they didn't want anyone to stop them. I'd been researching you for years by then, trying to see you in history, when I ran across a certain troublesome Time Agent and finally found a way to start my search in earnest."

A small, fond smile tilted up one corner of her mouth as Jack shifted, folding his arms in front of him. "And of course, he followed me. Spent all his time haranguing me, it felt like, teasing me about believing in myths and legends and 'aren't you a bit too old for bedtime stories? Honestly, River, my bedtime stories are _way_ more interesting.' Then we ran across one of the Time Agency's special ops teams, and he saw what they were doing. He didn't tease me as much after that. And when we saw what happened to the town that they'd been sent in to take care of, he decided not to go back to the Agency. We ended up dodging through history, looking for your tracks and hoping against hope that it would be worth it."

She stopped and looked down for a long moment. "And for a time, traveling together was almost enough, even if we never seemed to get any closer to our goal." She laughed softly. "One night we got absolutely _roaring_ drunk on New Vegas, and woke up with spectacular hangovers and matching wedding bands the next day. Neither of us bothered to get it annulled, though." She smiled gently, sadly. "It was on our first wedding anniversary that the Time Agency's spec ops finally hunted us down. I guess we'd left too large of a trail for them to miss. So, he strapped his vortex manipulator to my wrist and sent me away just before they knocked down the door. By the time I broke through the lock he'd programmed and got back to our room, they'd done their job. There were no traces of him left."

River stood and crossed her arms in front of her chest, holding her elbows tightly as she began to pace. "That's when I decided that the rest of the universe could go hang, for all I cared. The Time Agency had taken everything that I cared about from me—my job, my friends, my family, my husband, and I'd had enough. So I decided to give them as much trouble as I could, see how they felt about their plans being wrecked and their reputations torn asunder." She shook her head and barked out a laugh. "And of course, that _would _be when I finally found you."

Jack reached out to her, his hand pausing a minute distance away from her shoulder. "River... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

She shook her head briskly, her eyes flat. "It's not your fault."

"Doesn't mean I can't be sorry that it happened to you."

Rose snorted softly at that. He blinked at her, and her lips quirked up. "_Somebody's_ been spending too much time with the Doctor."

River straightened her shoulders and shook her head a little, plastering a smile on her face. "Yes, how _did_ that happen?"

Jack glanced at Rose and grinned. "Well, it all started with a pair of binoculars..." Rose groaned and covered her face as Jack laughed and continued, his voice echoing around the cell.

ΘΣ


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

ΘΣ

Donna stumbled out of the TARDIS, the empty container for the Doctor's hangover cure from Beyn Central clutched in her hand. She could only hope it would kick in soon. If she weren't so fond of Jack, she'd be tempted to test his immortality. That was the absolute last time she was ever going to try Hypervodka—and she _meant_ it this time.

Jack, River, and Rose were standing together in the medical pit as Martha and Ianto worked over the unconscious Time Agents, so Donna sighed and flopped down on the low plaid couch set against the wall. The Doctor poked his head out of Jack's office and wandered over, his hands in his pockets. She held up a hand to forestall the Oncoming Babble.

"Whatever it is, I _don't_ want to hear it until your happy pills kick in."

He hid a smirk and settled next to her, his arms crossed comfortably against his chest. The minutes passed quietly, the only sounds those of the group down in the examination room. Mickey and Gwen had left earlier with Rhys, presumably to clear up the mess left at the pub before too many civilians got involved. Donna silently wished Mickey luck with Francine as she closed her eyes and let her head rest against the cool brick behind her, the chill of it easing her raging headache as the medicine slowly kicked in.

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Am I allowed to talk now?"

She squeezed one eye open at him, huffing out a breath at his smug expression. "If it's anythin' about superior Time Lord constitutions, I don't want to hear it."

He gasped in mock-outrage. "Why Donna, how could you think I would do something like that?"

"Maybe 'cause you always do."

"I refuse to accept that I'm that predictable."

She snorted, wincing a little at the residual ringing in her ears. "Oh, please. You love to brag, and don't even pretend otherwise." Her lips quirked up. "Which is why Rose told you to button it about the baby, isn't it?"

His mouth opened and closed as he fought for some argument that would remove the smug expression on Donna's face. Finally, though, he sighed and leaned back against the wall next to her. "Fine, you're right. She didn't want to take any of the attention away from Mickey and Martha." He scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Which happened anyway, thanks to these idiots."

Donna pursed her lips as she looked down at the black-clad commandos. "What're they doin' here, anyway?"

The Doctor's jaw clenched. "If River is to be believed, they're here for me."

Donna tilted her head, raising an eyebrow. "And why wouldn't you believe her? That's twice now that she's saved your life."

He scowled and leaned forward, resting his elbows against his knees and glaring down at the stone floor. "Because I still don't know who she is... or _what _she is."

Donna nodded thoughtfully. "Oh, I see."

He glanced over at her, his eyes still dark. "What do you see?"

"You just can't stand not knowin' something, that's all, and that's why you're so twitchy about her."

He sat up abruptly. "Donna! That's not it at all!" He paused. "And I am not _twitchy!_"

She ignored the last part and watched him evenly. "Oh, really? So explain it to me, spaceman."

"Donna, she knew my _name_! Only one person can ever know my name, and she learned it on the Crucible." For some reason, Donna flushed nearly as vibrant a red as her hair. The Doctor blinked. "What?"

"Yeah, about that? You might be blocked from telling anyone your name, but Rose isn't."

His back stiffened. "What do you mean?"

"Let's just say there's a reason I'm always tellin' you two to keep it in the bedroom. Neither of you are exactly... quiet."

Comprehension slammed into him like a freight train, and his eyes abruptly widened. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. Donna couldn't help the wide smirk that tugged at her mouth—seeing the Doctor speechless, was incredibly rare, and to actually have _caused_ it? This was a moment to savor. Blimey, even his _ears_ were blushing.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, his face still violently red. "I'll... uh... I'll have to remember that." His gaze turned abruptly pleading. "You won't, ah, you won't tell anyone, will you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

"Good. I mean, I thought so, but I just had to be sure." Their conversation petered off into awkward silence, neither of them meeting the other's gaze.

Donna looked over at the medical pit and smiled hesitantly as Rose leaned against the wall, her hand unconsciously resting over her stomach. "I never said, but... congratulations."

"Hmm?" The Doctor tore his gaze away from Rose and blinked at her. "What was that?"

"Congratulations." Donna gestured in front of her stomach. "You know, about the baby."

"Oh! Right, yeah." He turned back to look at Rose again, his smile soft and hopeful. "Thank you."

Something forced her to speak again. "It's really brilliant, you know. You've got a whole little family, now."

He blinked and turned back to her, his gaze far more searching that she was comfortable with. "Yeah, I suppose I do."

"Right, then." She took in a deep breath, and his eyes narrowed.

"Donna, are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

She snorted, looking away from him. "Well, I'd hardly know, now, would I? Who knows what goes on in that mad alien brain of yours."

"Donna, Rose and I having a baby, that won't change anything."

She stared at him, eyes wide and disbelieving. "Are you _completely_ daft?"

"Well, all right, it will change things—quite a few things, actually. But you shouldn't think we won't want you around anymore." He laid his hand on top of hers. "I don't know what I'd do without you, I really don't, and Rose would regenerate me if I let you just... just _leave_. You're family, Donna. You'll never have to leave, unless you want to." His eyes widened suddenly. "You don't, do you? Want to?"

She laughed, ignoring the slight quiver in her lips. "Nah, I guess I'd better stick around. After all, you two would probably end up completely bonkers without _somebody_ around to be the voice of reason."

The Doctor's smile was wide and so, so relieved. "Well, good." He sighed and tugged on his ear. "It'll be nice to have you around—I haven't raised a child in centuries, and Rose never has."

She snorted. "'S not like I have, either."

"Well, maybe not, but it'll be good for the little one to have their godmother around."

Donna's jaw dropped, and she turned to stare at the Doctor. He was very determinedly focused on the mess on Gwen's desk, but he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She closed her mouth and cleared her throat, still staring at him. "Are you sure? I mean, this baby will be a Time Lord, and I'm just a human—"

He cut her off, his eyes flashing. "Donna Noble, you are not 'just' anything." He looked down at his hands, clenched tightly on the cushions. "And being a Time Lord doesn't mean much more than we want it to mean, now." He glanced over at her, reaching up to tug on his ear. "On Gallifrey, the Time Lords never had the concept of 'family' like you humans do. Most children were created in the Looms and sent off to study with their Houses, and when they were old enough they would donate genetic material for the next generation. I was always considered a bit weird for looking after my kids, but I couldn't not. The High Council thought it'd be best if we all lived up to our potential, you see. If we didn't have to bother with relationships, we could focus on what really mattered—Gallifrey." He snorted bitterly. "Like that helped them, in the end. Maybe if they'd spent a bit more time _caring_..."

He cut himself off and sighed. "Anyway, doesn't matter. What's done is done. But you humans!" Donna jumped as his voice rose, positively bouncing with enthusiasm. "You make family out of nothing, everywhere you go! It's_ brilliant_. And... I want the little one to have that. I want them to care like humans care, to find the joy in such little lives." Donna cleared her throat pointedly, and he flushed and cleared his throat. "You know what I mean."

Donna smiled and shook her head fondly. "Think I do, yeah." She touched his hand. "I'm sorry you had to grow up that way."

His smile was shaky, but it was there. "It was a bit lonely at times, yeah, but I'm glad I had what family I did. My mother watched over me, and my kids... they were so brilliant, Donna. Beyond clever. And my granddaughter, Susan..." his voice tangled in his throat, and he blinked his eyes rapidly. "I was so proud of them all." They were quiet for a long moment, and the Doctor let out a heavy breath, his eyebrows rising. "Blimey, I've talked more about Gallifrey in the past day than I have in centuries."

She let out a soft laugh. "Maybe looking back on the past doesn't hurt so much, now that you have a future."

He smiled fondly at her. "You might be right."

Donna snorted. "Might be? Spaceman, you _know_ I'm right."

A shrill beeping interrupted the Doctor before he could retort, and they leapt to their feet and ran over to the medical bay. Jack's eyes were wide as he stared at the Time Agents' unconscious forms. "Oh, hell. That was only a theory!"

"_What_ was? Jack, what's going on?" The Captain ignored him, shoving Ianto and Martha up the stairwell, Rose and River right behind him. The Doctor grabbed Rose and shoved her behind him, glaring at Jack. "What is it?"

"Time bomb! Get them out!"

The Doctor's eyes widened, and he threw the doors to the TARDIS open. "In here, now!"

The team hurried in, but Jack's eyes widened before he reached the door. "Wait!"

The alarm had grown closer together—_beep beep beep beep beep beep beepbeepbeep_—and the Doctor groaned. "Jack! No time, come on!" Jack ignored him, dashing over to the wall-safe and typing in the access code frantically. "Jack!"

"Just a minute, Doc!"

"We don't have a minute!" The wall opened with a grind and Jack reached in and grabbed a heavy briefcase-like device, clutching it to his chest as he spun and dived for the TARDIS doors. The Doctor and Rose were waiting by the doors, their arms out. "_Jack!_"

The air around them froze as the time bomb detonated, its booming echo resonating through the air like the unstoppable ripples in a pond. Jack threw the device through the TARDIS' open doors and reached forward, slamming the doors shut on Rose's horrified face, cutting off her shrill scream. "JACK!"

The Doctor threw himself at the doors, pulling on them as hard as he could, but the TARDIS refused to open them. He swore viciously in his mind, a chiming stream of rage directed at the TARDIS. _What are you doing? Let me out!_

A quiet, scared voice spoke up from right behind him, "Doctor?"

"Not now, Rose!"

Donna spoke up, her anxiety just as strong beneath the bluster. "Yeah, I think it'd best be now, Doctor."

"_What?_" He spun in place, his coat flaring behind him, and froze as he caught sight of Rose, Rose who just this morning had told him about their pregnancy.

Rose who now held onto the railing with a white-knuckled grip, all her attention focused on the pronounced swell under the front of her dress.

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	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

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A stunned silence filled the TARDIS, broken only by Martha. "Right, infirmary._ Now._"

River shook herself from her stupor at the sight of the TARDIS's interior as the Doctor scooped Rose up in his arms and hurried off down the hallway. She pulled her eyes away from the console, her hands shaking. "What about James? Are we all just going to forget him, now?"

Ianto's jaw tightened. "His name is Jack, and he's more than able to take care of himself."

Her eyes narrowed. "Listen, I don't know if you understand what just happened, but that was a_ time bomb_. It stretches and mutates the temporal stability of the area it hits, and no one can survive it."

Ianto's lips curled up in a small, stiff smile. "You'd be surprised."

The Doctor's voice echoed back into the console room, high-pitched with stress. "_Donna!_"

The redhead grimaced and rested a hand on River's shoulder. "Listen, Jack'll be all right. You don't need to worry about him. Rose, on the other hand..."

River nodded, taking in a shaky breath as she slowly straightened. "No, you're right. She matters more right now." Ianto's hands clenched on the jump seat, and she tightened her lips and gave him a severe glance. "She does. Do you have any idea what that woman means? She's carrying the fate of the universe."

Donna spun around, blocking her path before they could enter the hallway. "Right, that kinda thinking stops here. Rose is a very scared young woman focusing on her first pregnancy with the man she loves. She's not some mythic figure, she's a girl, and you're _not_ going to shove that kind of pressure down her throat when she's already frightened out of her wits."

"But they—" Donna's hand flew up, and River broke off.

"_Don't care. _Yeah, they've both done some amazing things, but they're still people, and I'm not going to let you put all that weight on their shoulders. Now can I trust you to show a little sensitivity, or am I going to have to set Ianto to watching you?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Do I get a say in this?"

She shot him a perfunctory glance before focusing on River again. "Hush, you. Well, do I?" River pressed her lips together, nodding gravely. Donna nodded decisively and turned to lead her to the infirmary. "Right. Now we'd best find out what's going on."

Martha glanced up as they came in and gave Donna a desperate look as she pulled out an array of scanners. Rose was lying, pale and sedated, on a smooth medical bed, her hair and nails markedly longer than they had been moments ago. The Doctor was clutching her hand, his eyes glued to her stomach and his face pale. Donna cleared her throat. "Oi, Martian boy! This is no time to be useless. Somethin's wrong, so why don't you set to finding out what it is, hmm?"

He glared at her, and Donna fought down the shiver that threatened to race down her back at that inhumanly angry look. "Donna, this is _Rose._"

She leaned in and glared right back at him, the same look Sylvia Noble had perfected on her, and had the satisfaction of watching him blink and look away. "Exactly. So _do_ somethin' about it."

He blinked dully at her for a moment before snapping into action, his long limbs moving in a frenetic blur of activity. "Martha, lower right-hand drawer, beneath the Atalusian bio-scanner."

She yanked the drawer open immediately, dragging out instrument after instrument before she making a triumphant noise and lifting up a rather frightening metal contraption. "This it, Doctor?"

He glanced up from where he was carefully attaching several small, glowing monitors to Rose's stomach and nodded briefly. "Exactly. Now, do you remember the set-up I showed you after Rigel IV?"

Martha looked up, her dark eyes wide. "But that was just practice. I never actually needed to _use_ it."

"Martha, I'm sure you remember how."

She set the instrument down, her hands shaking a little. "Doctor—"

"Martha." She looked up when he spoke, his voice utterly serious. "You saved the earth all by yourself, and you've saved me too many times to count. You can do this."

She swallowed and lifted her chin. "You're damn right I can. Now, let's get this fixed."

ΘΣ

The time passed quietly, Martha and the Doctor working silently side by side as Donna watched. Ianto had collected River a few hours ago to discuss the Time Agency, but Donna had let them to their own devices. She wasn't about to leave Rose or the Doctor, no matter how suspicious the Doctor was of River. The TARDIS would keep an eye on her. Well, not an eye. Donna was fairly certain the TARDIS didn't actually _have_ eyes, and she was grateful for that. The idea of the walls sprouting eyes wasn't something she was comfortable with.

The Doctor put down the flashing scanner with a sigh, and Martha finished punching her calculations into the medical mainframe before grimacing. "Lord, I need the loo. Be right back."

Donna straightened with a grimace, rolling her shoulders as they popped back into place. "Doctor? Is she going to be okay?"

He had rested a hand reverently on the swollen bump of Rose's stomach, but at Donna's voice he blinked and looked up. "Hmm? Yes. Yes, she will."

Donna swallowed, hating to ask the next question. "And... the little one?"

"Not so little, anymore." She raised her eyebrows expectantly, and he let out a tired breath and continued. "The baby's stable, Donna. She'll be perfectly all right. If she weren't a Time Lord, though..."

Donna reached out and touched his arm as his eyes darkened, and she smiled softly at him when he looked at her. "She?"

He blinked a little, then a grudging smile tugged at his mouth. "She. We're going to have a daughter, Rose and I." His eyes were still dark and sad, and Donna reached down to squeeze his hand, remembering blonde hair and a blinding grin.

"I'm sure she'll be amazing, Doctor."

Something in his smile fractured. "They all were."

"And she _will be_."

A quiet, groggy voice drew both of their attentions. "Doctor?"

He was by Rose's side in an instant, brushing her hair away from her face tenderly. "I'm right here, love."

Her eyes widened as she became fully awake, and one of her hands flew to her stomach. "Is..."

"She's perfectly all right, Rose. There's a quirk of Gallifreyan biology, lets us be a bit more temporally elastic than... well... anyone else, so she was able to settle soon after you did." Rose's eyes stayed wide, and the Doctor's brow furrowed. "Rose, I swear, she's fine. Perfect, really."

Her voice was hushed and reverent, and Donna backed out of the room. "...She?"

He smiled down at her, letting the joy he'd fought off ever since he'd found out shine in his eyes. "She. We're having a little girl, Rose."

Rose gasped in a deep breath, her eyes shining, and he laughed quietly and perched on the smooth stool next to the medical bed, resting his forehead against hers.

There was a soft, wavering warmth at the edge of Rose's mind, and she stilled as she felt it flicker against her consciousness. Closing her eyes and concentrating, she focused on the shimmering force. It hummed against her quietly, nestling into her with complete trust and joy. Her eyes snapped open, and she stared up at the Doctor. He was watching her with an odd smile on his face, his dark eyes soft. "Did you feel that?"

His eyebrows shot up, and he blinked and leaned back. "It's _your_ mind, Rose."

"And it's _our_ baby. Come here." He didn't need a second invitation. Within moments, his mind had joined hers, and the flickering warmth of their child blossomed into a steady glow as she was cocooned by her parent's minds.

Rose's eyes opened, staring, awestruck, at the sudden possibilities that stretched in front of her mind's eye, a golden, laughing child dancing through the timelines—flickers of wide brown eyes and strawberry blonde hair, a glimpse of painfully familiar blue eyes and heavy, dark hair, all with the same love and joy trilling from their soul as the baby now growing in her womb. A drop fell on her arm, and she realized with a start that the Doctor was _crying_. Her Doctor, who fearlessly faced down tyrants and monsters, was crying. "Doctor—"

He spoke quietly, and she stilled. "I never thought I'd feel this again." She caught his hand tightly with hers, her mind and the baby's (their _daughter's_) singing a chorus of _love-joy-comfort-home_ to his familiar storm-cloud presence.

If she hadn't had the dimension cannon project to work on in the years after she regenerated, Rose was quite sure she would have gone mad, back in Pete's world. Her mind echoed with silence when she woke after the accident, and she'd never even had another mind there, for her to feel the loss. She couldn't imagine how the Doctor had survived such aching loneliness after Gallifrey was destroyed, and she felt with a sudden, bone-deep certainty that he would never have to again. The TARDIS purred with contentment at the back of all of their minds, and Rose closed her eyes and smiled.

She didn't know how she could ever thank the TARDIS enough for what she'd given them, but maybe taking the mallet away would work for a beginning.

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	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

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Donna pushed the kitchen door open, her heart thumping. Ianto and River had disappeared together hours ago, and she wasn't going to place any bets about the outcome. Sure, the young Welshman appeared to be quiet enough, but he was Captain Jack Harkness's partner. There was no way he was as meek as he seemed. And River... well, she didn't actually know the woman, but 'demure' wasn't a term _anyone_ would use to describe her.

The scent of freshly-brewed tea had brought her to the kitchen, and the best she could hope would be that they hadn't clawed each others' eyes out.

The door swung open, and Donna blinked. River and Ianto were sitting quietly across from each other, faint trails of fragrant steam rising from their mugs. Donna cleared her throat. "Not interrupting anything, am I?"

River looked up, and Donna winced. The younger woman looked utterly stricken, her grey-green eyes wide. "He can't die?"

Donna sighed a little and looked at Ianto. His lips quirked up in a small, humorless smile, acknowledgment rather than joy, and she spoke quietly. "No. No, he can't."

"How long has it been?"

Donna shrugged. "I'm not sure exactly how long—I didn't know him before, not like Rose and the Doctor did, but I think he's been here for a few hundred years."

"A few hundred..." River laughed, a sad little broken sound. "Gods, no wonder he didn't remember me. How could he remember anyone?" Ianto closed his eyes at that, pressing his lips together tightly.

"He remembers." They swung towards the doorway, where the Doctor stood. His hands were in his pockets, his shoulders slumped with exhaustion. "After that much time, you can't do anything else."

River swallowed. "How's Rose?"

"She'll be fine. Still exhausted—she's sleeping, now—but that's only to be expected when your body's temporal rhythms have been disrupted like that."

Ianto cleared his throat. "What _was_ that?"

River and the Doctor spoke at the same time. "Time bomb." "Close-range temporal destabilizer."

Donna snorted. "I like River's version better." The Doctor threw her an annoyed glance, and she raised a challenging eyebrow at him. He sighed and sat back, folding his arms petulantly, and she tossed her hair. "Oh, all right. You can explain it, then."

"Don't patronize me."

"I could ask River..."

"_Fine_." He pretended he wasn't sulking, and Donna pretended she wasn't smirking. "A close-range temporal destabilizer is just what it sounds like. Now, you humans, you only experience time one way—you move forward through it, the past in your wake. You're not really made to handle it any other way." Donna opened her mouth, and he rolled his eyes. "Yes, even when you're with me. But a time bomb throws that off the table—it destabilizes the integrity of the Vortex in a specific location, effectively throwing time out of whack. If any of you were caught in that, well... it's not pretty." Ianto had paled, but River tightened her jaw, her eyes stony. Donna's eyebrows pulled together. There was a story there, she was sure of it. "If Jack weren't immortal, there's no way he would survive something like that. Blimey, it's still a toss-up anyway." The Doctor's eyes darkened. "But if the Time Agency's discovered they have an immortal rogue Time Agent on their hands, especially one who knows what they've been up to, there's no telling what they'll do to him."

Ianto set his mug on the table, his gaze level. "So how do we go after them?"

River's jaw tightened. "We don't."

He glared at her, his shoulders stiffening. "Like hell we don't."

She shook her head impatiently. "They know we're on their trail, now. And when the Time Agency doesn't want to be found, _they_ _aren't_. This is above my pay grade." She turned to the Doctor. "There's someone we need to go see."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Would this person happen to be located in the back of a dark alley somewhere?"

"Doctor!" Donna smacked him on the back of the head before turning to River. "Sorry about him, he doesn't always understand this whole 'civil conversation' thing."

River sighed, raising a hand. "No, I understand." Her lips quirked faintly. "Though I have to say, alleys aren't her style. We always met in the Library."

Donna stood hastily, knocking into the table. "Who wants more tea? I should go see if Rose wants some."

Ianto frowned. "But the Doctor said she was sleeping."

"You've obviously never tried to get between Rose Tyler and her tea. Sleep is nothing if it means a good cuppa." She left, and silence reigned as the door swung swung shut behind her.

The Doctor cleared his throat, his face carefully blank. "The Library, you said? 51st century planet? It's rather dangerous, as I recall."

River waved her hand negligently. "After the return, of course. Thousands of people trapped a whole century out of time—the Time Agency won't even go near it. It's chaos."

His hand tightened on his mug, his knuckles turning bone-white. "It was abandoned to the Vashta Nerada."

She shook her head. "Before that."

"That was only _one day_! You're telling me you keep returning to the same day? Do you have _any_ idea how irresponsible that is?"

Her jaw clenched and she snapped, "Oh no, of course not, because I'm a rank amateur." He snorted in agreement, and she glared at him. "We use the Flesh, Doctor. I haven't ever stepped foot in the Library itself."

The Doctor stilled. "You use what?"

"The Flesh. Oh, come now, you've traveled through all of time and space, and you've never heard of them?" He stood and began to pace, running a hand through his hair. River sat back and folded her arms. "Score one for the human."

It was Ianto who broke the fraught silence. "So who is this person you want to meet with?"

River sighed and faced Ianto again, ignoring the Doctor as he stared at her. "My main source on the Agency. She set me on the Agency's money trail, which is where my first book came from—and the last time I saw her, she told me about their spec-ops mercenaries."

The Doctor sat again, his shoulders tight. "And does this revolutionary have a name?"

"Dr. Ana Noble."

The Doctor's eyebrows rose sharply, and he leaned back in his chair. "Is she, now."

River raised a sardonic eyebrow at him. "Yes, she is, 'Doctor'."

A soft voice came from the doorway. "We should go."

The Doctor stood hastily, the back legs of his chair scraping against the floor. "Rose! You should be resting."

Ianto tilted his head. "Did Donna wake you up, then?"

She gave him a confused look as she wobbled over to the table, taking the Doctor's arm gratefully. "No, I haven't seen her. Why?"

Ianto caught the Doctor's look and pressed his lips together. "No reason."

She sighed. "Right." She slumped into a chair next to the Doctor's, groaning with relief as it shifted to support her lower back. She rested a hand on the table, smiling gently. "Thanks, love."

Ianto and River exchanged a glance, and Rose turned back to River. "We need to go find your Dr. Noble."

The Doctor frowned. "Rose—"

She gripped his arm. _Doctor, they're hunting our child. Even if we can't trust River, at least if she goes with us we'll be able to keep an eye on her—but I am __not__ about to let the Time Agency get away with this._

_And I'm not suggesting we do, Rose, but we can't believe her without any proof._

_I don't. There's a lot more to this situation than we know, I'd be an idiot not to see that, but this is a solid lead. I'm not about to ignore that._

_Rose—_

She dropped her walls, and her discomfort and irritation whipped out like a lash, bringing with it her searing anger and deeply suppressed panic. _Just __trust__ me, would you?_

The Doctor flinched and sat back, his barriers flying up. "Right."

River gave Ianto a dry glance as the Doctor and Rose shifted away from each other, anger and frustration clear on both their faces. They still hadn't said a word. "They do that often?"

His lips twitched up. "I wouldn't know. I just met them today." He looked at the Doctor, whose jaw was clenched tight. Rose had wrapped her arms around herself, shifting uncomfortably. "Or is it yesterday, by now?"

There was a commotion in the hallway, and they turned towards the door as a familiar voice rang out. "You can't just tell me something like that and expect me to ignore it!"

Rose's eyes widened, and she reached out and grabbed the Doctor's sleeve. "Oh, bollocks. He's never going to let me forget this."

The door slammed open and Mickey stormed in, Donna and Martha close behind. Martha gestured at the table, her exasperation clear. "There. See? I told you she was fine."

Mickey's jaw had dropped as he caught sight of Rose's belly. "Blimey, look at you! You look like you swallowed a house!"

Rose glared at him. "Oi! Don't make me smack you!"

He flinched back, his eyes darting to her hand, as Martha rolled her eyes. "She does _not._ Don't be ridiculous. Rose, you look at _most_ six months along."

Mickey dropped into the chair next to Rose, his eyes still on her stomach. He glanced up at her face, his eyebrows drawn tightly together. "Is the baby okay?"

Rose sighed. "As much as she can be, yeah."

"She?" A wide smile broke across his face. "Oh, Jackie'll be over the moon." There was a sudden, frozen silence, and he cleared his throat. "Or, y'know, she would be."

Rose smiled stiffly. "Yeah." She looked down, her hands tightening around each other. "I think I'm goin' back to bed."

Martha jabbed Mickey with her elbow, and he yelped. She walked over to Rose. "Here, I'll walk with you."

Mickey turned back to the table as they left and scowled at the Doctor's scorching glare. "Oi, don't look at me like that. Besides, it's not like _you _can do anything about it."

"BOYS."

They quieted as Donna glared at them, and Ianto raised his eyebrows at her. "Are you sure you're an only child?"

She just smirked at him before turning to the others. "Right, so what's the plan?"

Mickey sighed, and the fight seemed to drain out of him. "Have you seen the base? It's _wrecked_. Gwen and Rhys are out there trying to sort it, but I don't know how they will. Where do you even begin with something like that?"

Ianto gritted his teeth together. "The Time Agency's got Jack."

Mickey paused, his eyes widening slightly, before he nodded brusquely. "Right. So when do we go after him?"

River groaned. "See, this is why I work alone. This is _such_ a bad idea."

Mickey snorted. "An' who the hell are you?"

"I'm somebody who's been burned by the Agency before. They decide they don't like you, they can wipe you out like that_._" She snapped her fingers, and the Doctor frowned thoughtfully.

"So how are you still here?"

Her eyes flickered to the side. "Man on the inside, remember?"

The Doctor made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat and settled back, watching her carefully. "You are right, though. There's no way you're all going along."

Ianto stiffened and Mickey began to protest, and the Doctor held up a forestalling hand. "I know you want to go. I understand that, I do. But these people are dangerous, and more than that, Cardiff needs you. Jack's told me about some of the things you've faced here—the Rift can't be left unattended."

Ianto tightened his lips. "Jack's not exactly here to mind it, is he?"

"No. Which is why you need to be—all of you. He hasn't been training you for nothing. He trusts you, which is enough for me."

Donna gave the Doctor a hard look at that, and he shook his head minutely at her, his eyes still fixed on the Torchwood agents.

There was a pause, and then Mickey nodded grudgingly. "Alright, yeah. But you'd better get 'im back soon." Ianto's jaw tightened, and Mickey clapped him on the shoulder. "Look, mate, he's right. There's nobody Jack trusted more than you when it came to Torchwood. We need you here. The Doctor knows what he's doin'. An' if he doesn't, Rose does."

"Oi!"

Mickey snorted. "Oi, yourself. Who was it exactly who decided impossible wasn't enough to stop her? Oh, right, that'd be Rose. Meanwhile, _you_ were over here blowin' up scarecrows and tryin' to commit suicide by Dalek."

The Doctor's expression hardened, something alien showing in his dark eyes, but Mickey just lifted his chin. The Doctor's jaw clenched. "You're remarkably blasé about Rose's safety."

The other man sat back, crossing his arms. "Oh, please. Back on Pete's World, I saw Rose stop a Carnackian invasion single-handedly. Literally. She'd broken her arm before she found them."

The Doctor's breath hissed in between his teeth. "_Carnackian? _What the hell were they doing there, and why in Rassilon's name would you let Rose take them on alone?"

Mickey gave him a look that was almost pitying. "D'you honestly think anything in _any_ universe could stop Rose once she's made her mind up?"

Donna snickered. "He's got a point there, spaceman."

Ianto cleared his throat, impatience tightening his expression. "Lovely as this all is, isn't there something more important we could be focusing on than Miss Tyler's quirks?"

The Doctor gave him a long look. "We will find Jack, Mr. Jones. You have my word." He leapt to his feet, clapping his hands together manically. "But first things first! You lot, off the ship. There's work to be done, and you're just the people to do it."

Mickey raised an eyebrow and rose to his feet. "I'm off to get Martha, then, if you're sure Rose is all right."

The Time Lord gave him a long-suffering look. "I'm not just called 'the Doctor' on a whim, Mickey."

"Yeah, tell that to someone who didn't spend a rotten Christmas listening to you snore while the world went mad."

"I do not _snore!_"

"Keep tellin' yourself that, boss." He clapped Ianto on the back and led him out the door, nodding at Donna. "See ya, Red." He paused as he looked at River, who'd been quietly stewing at the table. "Dunno you, but if you're in here, you can't be too bad. Later."

The door closed behind him, and River's lips quirked up involuntarily. "Your friend is charming."

Donna rolled her eyes, brushing her hair behind her ears. "So creative, too."

The Doctor scowled. "Oi! He's more Rose's friend than anything."

"Which is why the two of you spent three hours playing virtual laser tag together last Saturday."

"Well I wasn't about to leave him unsupervised, now was I?" Donna snorted before yawning, and the Doctor glanced between her and River. "Right, time for the sleepy little humans to get some rest. Donna, I'm sure you can show River to a room."

Donna glared at him, but the power of it was somewhat lessened by the jaw-cracking yawn that interrupted her before she could speak. She scowled as the Doctor smirked. "Oh, all right. What are you going to do, spaceman?"

"Run some tests on the area, see if I can sort out any traces. Just boring stuff like that." He noticed the glint in River's eyes and tightened his mouth. "Nothing you'd be interested in, I'm sure. Good night!" He shut the door firmly behind him and slipped off down the hallway, sending a firm thought to the TARDIS to keep an eye on River. He'd had more than enough trouble for one night without a nosy archeologist poking around.

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	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Happy New Year, guys! I've been writing fic for just about a year now, and you- my readers- have made it SUCH a wonderful experience. You're all great, and I hope you have an amazing 2013.**

Chapter 9

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The hallway echoed with his soft footsteps as the Doctor headed to the console room. He was confident Donna would keep an eye on River, not to mention she'd probably take a hatchet to him if he stuck around to ensure it.

He paused outside the door of the console room with a frown. The Torchwood team had left, he was sure of it, and yet he could hear the quiet shuffle of someone moving about the room. He shoved the door open, his voiced raised in annoyance. "Mickey, I told you, no mucking about without supervi—Rose?"

She glanced up from the monitor, her hair piled in a messy bun atop her head with several centimeters of roots showing. "What?"

"You're supposed to be sleeping! What do you think you're doing?"

"What does it _look _like I'm doing? I'm checking for any traces they may have left behind."

"Yes, but you're not—oh." He'd reached the monitors, and blinked as he looked down at the flickering program that was tracing through the tracks the Time Agency had left behind. He glanced back at Rose, who had leaned back to press her hands against her lower back. "How did you do that?" She snorted and sent him a mental nudge, and he blushed. "Right. Still! That doesn't change the fact that you should be sleeping."

"I'm fine, Doctor."

"Rose, what you went through today... not even a native-born Gallifreyan would be able to brush off something like that. You need your rest." She ignored him, focusing on the monitor, and he tightened his lips. "The baby needs you to rest."

The Doctor reeled back as her anger flared up around him, raging through their connection like an inferno. "Don't you _dare_, Doctor. You are NOT going to be using her as leverage to get me to do as you like."

"I would never do that!" Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and he winced and twitched his shoulders. "Rose, you have to take care of yourself. Please. You don't have to be strong all the time."

"Oh, that's rich, coming from you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She put on an affected accent, her voice lowered. "I'm always all right."

"That's not fair."

She spun and glared at him, her voice raised to a shout. "NONE of this is fair! They violated my body, Doctor! They violated our _baby_!" She jerked a hand at her swollen belly, tears smearing her makeup. "They took away _months_ that I'm never getting back, that I'll never experience again. And you know the worst part? They didn't even_ mean_ to. This was just some sick accident, because want they really want is for her to be dead. Well, they're not getting what they want, Doctor. Not while there's breath in my lungs."

She started to cry in earnest then, deep, racking sobs, and the Doctor pulled her into his arms, resting his cheek against her hair. "They're not getting her, Rose. I don't care what it takes. They are not harming our child."

"How can you say that? With how our lives go, how could you _ever_ promise that?"

He pulled back, gripping her chin until she looked at him. "Because I won't let anything happen to you, or to her."

"No offense, Doctor, but you didn't want anything to happen to me before, and look at how well that turned out."

He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers, his voice turning low and fierce. "I don't care what it takes. _Nothing_ is taking the two of you away from me."

She bit her lip before speaking, hating the quiver in her voice. "And what if it's us or the universe?"

"The universe can go hang."

"You can't just say that."

"I can and I am. I am NOT losing you. Not again."

"Doctor—" His lips cut her off, pressing to hers fiercely, almost frantically. Rose melted into him for a moment, the sheer solid force of him dragging her into orbit. She opened her mouth at the whisper-soft flicker of his tongue, pressing forward into his arms until the firm swell of her belly interrupted them.

They broke apart and looked down, staring at what they'd almost lost. Rose took in a deep, shaky breath, closing her eyes. "I was goin' to say you couldn't do that, but... my answer's no different." Her lips quirked into a half-hearted smile. "I guess we'll have to hope for the best, then."

The Doctor barked out a grim laugh, his arms tightening around her carefully. "Oh, I intend to do better than that." A soft chime came from the console behind them, and his jaw tightened. "I'm going to find those bastards, and then I'm going to make them pay."

Rose's brows pulled together as she stared up at her husband. There was a martial light in his dark eyes that she hadn't seen since they were ice blue and grief-stricken, deep in a Utah bunker. "Doctor, you can't."

"I think you'll find I can."

She reached up and gripped his cheek, turning his gaze from the console back to her. "Then you shouldn't."

"Rose, they're trying to destroy our family."

She snorted incredulously. "You think I don't know that? But, Doctor... you can't let them decide your actions. You're better than that."

He tightened his lips. "I wouldn't be so sure."

"Yeah, well, I _would_."

The Doctor paused and blinked down at her, the anger of his expression fading into a curiously child-like vulnerability. The moment passed, and his lips quirked up even as his eyebrows drew down. "You know, I've never met anyone quite as stubbornly optimistic as you—and considering my experience, that's saying something."

Rose grinned, her tongue playing between her teeth. If he wanted to pretend everything was okay, well, two could play that game. "Oh, come on. All of time and space, you can't tell me you never bumped into yourself." He flushed abruptly, tugging on his earlobe, and she crowed in triumph. "You have! I _knew _it!"

He gave her an oddly grateful look before holding up a forestalling hand, a small smirk on his face. "I know what you're going to say next, and no, you can't meet my past selves."

She pouted and shifted into his personal space, grunting when she had to curl around her belly to rest her chin on his shoulder. "Why not?"

"Oi, would you like me to meet you at age thirteen?" She shuddered, and he grinned triumphantly. "Exactly. Besides, I'd hate to ruin the surprise."

"Great, now I feel like a particularly bloated birthday present."

"But you _are_, Rose." She glared at him, and he winced. "Not about the bloated part, of course. Every about your body is just as it should be."

Her eyes narrowed. "No, it's not. That's kind of the point, remember?"

He paused. "Ah." She snorted, and he shook himself absently. "But as I was _trying_ to say—before I was so rudely interrupted, I might add—"

"You must be rubbing off on me."

"Hush." She arched an eyebrow at him, and he gave her a light glare. "Every moment I get to spend with you is a gift." She began to giggle at that, pointing at his face, and he groaned and wiped a hand over his eyes. "You make it very hard to be romantic, Rose Tyler."

She bit her lip, forcing herself to sober. "I appreciate the effort, I really do."

"Why do I get the impression I've just handed you something covered in glue and too many sparkles?"

She gave him a saccharine-sweet smile. "I'll hang it on the fridge, I promise."

"Ha, ha." The silence stretched out, and Rose swallowed, the smile fading from her face. The Doctor noticed and brushed a long-fingered hand against her cheek, dipping his head to catch her eyes. His voice was low and earnest, nearly drowned out by the quiet hum of the TARDIS's engines. "It'll be all right, Rose."

Her mouth tugged sideways. "Thanks for saying that."

He groaned, ruffling a hand through his hair. "You used to have so much faith in me."

"Yeah, well, I also used to think Daleks just needed a cuddle."

"Hey." He caught her chin again, frowning gently down at her. "No need to be like that."

Rose leaned forward, resting her forehead against his chest. Her voice was muffled against the silk of his tie. "What are we going to do, Doctor?"

"We'll find the people who caused this, Rose. We will."

She shook her head impatiently, locks of blonde and brown hair falling down to catch against the soft wool of his suit. "That's not what I mean. What are we going to do as _parents?_ We can't even get through one month without ending up in jail on some planet or another, how are we going to raise a child?"

The Doctor opened his mouth and paused, his teeth coming together with a click. He sighed, brushing his lips against the crown of her head. "I don't know, Rose. But there are some things I _do_ know."

"The airspeed velocity of an African swallow?"

He rolled his eyes and continued, ignoring her. "That I will do _everything_ in my power to keep you and that child safe."

Her voice was soft, muffled against his suit. "And what about you?" The Doctor didn't respond, and Rose leaned back and touched his cheek. "The baby an' me aren't the only members of this family, you know." He opened his mouth, but she plowed on. "You don't need to promise me that you'd do anything for her. I already know that, of course I do. But I want you to _swear_ to me that you will do everything you can to keep us together. I don't care if you think it's for the best, you _can't_ split us apart."

The Doctor swallowed heavily, saying nothing. Rose bit her lip. "I can't do this without you. Please don't ever make me."

He cleared his throat, his jaw twitching as he spoke. "I promise."

She breathed out a sigh of relief, her posture going slack. "Thank you." He nodded, wrapping his arms around her, and she closed her eyes as she leaned into him.

They didn't move for a long time.

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	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

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Donna yawned as she stumbled out of her bedroom door, glancing down the hallway towards where she'd left River the night before. The TARDIS wasn't taking any chances with their mysterious guest—the door had melted away after the archeologist had stepped through. The wall was still blank, so either River was still asleep, or the TARDIS didn't think she should be out and about yet. If Donna was caffeinated, she might have been worried about their guest—as it was, she smacked her lips and headed to the kitchen.

The table was covered in dishes, and Donna grimaced as she looked at the assortment. Chips, peanut curry, what looked like purple fern fronds and a pile of (apparently rejected) lime jelly that had been stacked into a wobbly representation of the Eiffel Tower—it looked like Rose's cravings had kicked in, and the Doctor had been more than willing to help out.

"You'd think after the first few centuries he'd have learned how to pick up after himself, but no." Rolling her eyes, Donna grabbed a cup of tea from the kettle on the stove and headed off the console room. If those two idiots weren't going to clean up their own mess, she sure as hell wasn't going to do it for them. What did the Doctor think she was, a _maid?_

Quiet voices drifted out into the hallway as she walked towards the console room, and Donna smiled as she sipped her tea. It seemed like the two morons were in better spirits today—after a scare like yesterday's, she'd been worried. Yet more reasons to be grateful Rose was here, really. If the Doctor had witnessed something like this a year ago, she'd have had to deal with his moping for _months._

A cheerful male voice interrupted her thoughts. "Andromeda?"

Rose spoke, her voice contentedly amused. "Didn't she end up chained to a rock?"

"Well, yes, but it's still a lovely name. Cassiopeia, then?"

"Wasn't she the one who caused all the trouble in first place? And how come all your suggestions are old Greek names?"

Donna could practically _hear_ his pout. "Well, I thought you'd prefer human names. Besides, since when were you an expert on classical mythology?"

Rose's voice was soft, and Donna leaned forward to hear better. "Well, Pete had this gorgeous set of books on it in his library—he told me parallel Mum had given 'em to him when Vitex first took off, told him he needed something to class up his office. He'd never read them, and, well... it seemed a shame to leave them unused."

Donna paused in the doorway. The Doctor was peering out of the grating under the console, some odd goggle contraption that made his eyes enormous strapped to his forehead. His grin was oddly smug for someone who looked like the mutant love child of a fly and a puppy. "Rose Tyler, did you feel bad for a set of books?"

Rose blushed fiercely, slouching lower on the jump seat. "Don't be absurd. Of course I didn't."

"You _did!_"

"Shut up."

Donna snorted loudly. "Good lord, you two are nauseating." She raised an eyebrow at Rose. "Aren't _you_ supposed to be the one with the morning sickness?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Yes, good morning, Donna. I see the caffeine hasn't kicked in yet."

She ignored him, strolling over to flop onto the jump seat next to Rose. A moment later, she grimaced and sat up, staring back at it. "Is it just me, or is this seat shaped completely differently?"

"Yeah, that's me, sorry." Donna blinked at her, and Rose gestured at her stomach. "She's insisting on spoiling me."

"Oh, lord. You're just as nutters as that one."

The Doctor popped his head up again, looking like a mad scientist gopher. "Oi! What's that supposed to mean?"

"What do you think, Spaceman?"

Rose was watching Donna, and she cleared her throat. "You've been living here what, a year now? Surely you've noticed her moving things around on you?"

Donna pursed her lips. "I don't particularly _like_ the idea of living in a giant She, thank you very much."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, something that looked far less innocuous when magnified by his goggles. "Blimey, it's scuba diving all over again."

She scowled, stung. "Oi!"

Rose snorted. "You weren't kidding when you said she's like your sister." They both turned to glare at her and she leaned back and raised her hands. "Blimey, forget I said anything. Doctor, what's the progress on the temporal analysis?"

He blinked before beaming at her, and Donna rolled her eyes. He ignored her. "So far it seems River and her mysterious doctor haven't done any lasting damage to the timelines—how they managed that, I'm not quite sure."

Rose frowned thoughtfully. "Could it be something to do with those Flesh things you mentioned?"

Donna shuddered. "I do _not_ want to know."

The Doctor glanced at her impatiently, huffing. "You humans have such filthy minds."

She jabbed a finger at him, sitting up straighter. "Oh no, you don't. I've walked in on you two too many times for you to get to act like a prude."

Rose snickered. "She's got a point, Doctor. I didn't end up this way by accident."

He pushed his goggles up and slipped his glasses on, staring intently at the monitor. "I think it _is_ because of the Flesh, yes." Donna and Rose exchanged a smug glance, and he pursed his lips. "I'm surprised I hadn't heard of them before, really, but they didn't show up in the archives until a few hours ago."

Rose shrugged. "Time loops are tricky. The TARDIS had to be sure you would know what you needed when you needed."

The Doctor threw her a heated glance, and Donna groaned. "Oi, wait until the shipmate's not around, will you?"

He flushed and cleared his throat, his hand raising towards his hair before he remembered the goggles. "Yes, well. The Flesh have been around since the 22nd century, apparently."

Donna rolled her eyes. "For _ages_, then."

He pursed his lips. "From a certain perspective, yes."

Rose sighed, pushing herself forward to interrupt their staring match. "So what are they?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes. They're flesh avatars, basically. A temporary body just waiting for a consciousness."

Donna's eyes narrowed. "What does that have to do with River?"

"River might not have died in the Library. In fact, I think I might have trapped her there." He paused and watched her carefully. "We have to go back."

She swallowed. "Well, I should probably go check on River, make sure she hasn't started an expedition into the gallery or anything."

The Doctor's eyebrows pulled together, and he cleared his throat carefully. "Donna—"

"I'm all right. Besides, it's not like I'm going to go rescue the damsel in my jim-jams, is it?" She smiled, her eyes pained, and fled the room.

He sighed and closed his eyes, leaning against the console. Rose frowned.

"Doctor, what happened there?"

He opened his eyes, his shoulders still slumped. "River wasn't the only person who was hurt that day. The Library's supercomputer got Donna, as well." He shivered. "I thought she was dead for a bit there, but she wasn't. The computer plugged her into a dream world and gave her the normal life she doesn't think she can have—the husband, the kids, the picket fence and all that jazz—and then took it away from her. I don't think she's ever forgotten that."

Rose's hand covered her mouth, her eyes wide. "And we've been prancing around on our honeymoon, with a baby on the way... oh, Donna. No wonder she's been a bit on edge lately."

The Doctor smiled weakly. "When is she not on edge?" He tugged on his earlobe at Rose's look and sighed. "No, I know."

"Why didn't she say anything?"

"You know Donna. She doesn't like to admit she's got any problems."

Rose raised an eyebrow at him. "So not like anyone we know, then."

A pair of female voices drifted in from the hallway, and the Doctor focused on the console, twisting dials and flipping switches without looking at her. "Sounds like we've got company." Donna and River entered the room, and he grinned manically at them. "Ladies! You might want to hold onto something—we're off to the Library, and it looks like it's going to be a bumpy ride."

ΘΣ


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

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Rose's mind brushed against his as they clutched the console, heavy with anxiety and fear. _Doctor, are you sure we should be doing this?_

_We'll manage._

_That's a no, then._ Rose groaned as they jolted through a particularly rough section of the Vortex, her eyes on him.

_I AM sure that Jack's traces are fading fast. He's a living temporal anomaly—I don't even want to think about what the Time Agency is doing to him. And if River's contact can lead us to them, well, I think it's worth that chance. _He tightened his knuckles on the console. _You have to stay here, though._

_Like hell I do. You promised not to split us up, Doctor, and I'm holding you to it._

_Rose..._

_NO. We're married, Doctor. Partners. I'm not going to hide away while you tromp about finding those bastards._

_Not even for our daughter?_

_She'll be with you, and that's good enough for me._

"Oi. You two going to be joining us anytime soon?" They blinked and broke eye contact, turning to look at Donna. The shaking had stopped, and the Doctor realized with a wince that they had landed. Donna was standing by the doorway with River, the amused smirk on her face almost hiding the tension in her shoulders as she crossed her arms. "Come on, then."

He nodded absently and turned back to his wife. "Rose..."

"No. Now come on, we haven't got all day." Donna raised an eyebrow inquiringly as Rose stomped over to her, and the blonde rolled her eyes. "He wants me to stay here."

Donna snorted. "Good luck with that, spaceman. Dunno if you noticed, but this one isn't much for staying put if she wants to be somewhere else." She rolled her eyes. "And he calls himself a genius."

The Doctor scowled, straightening. "All right, River, where do you meet this contact of yours?"

"Lost mythologies, generally."

Rose frowned. "If they're lost, how can the Library keep a record of them?"

The Doctor shrugged as they reached the doors. "The oldest stories need no sources, Rose."

River glanced at Donna. "He's very fond of being patronizing, isn't he?"

"Oi! Right here!" He scowled as they pushed through the doors, blinking against the sudden sunlight streaming through the high windows. There was a crowd of people dressed in black lined up in front of a raised platform, several of them tapping their feet in frustration. "Hello, what's going on here?"

One of the people in the line—a tall black woman with long dreadlocks—looked over at the Doctor, her lips pursed in irritation. "We don't know. The blasted technicians won't tell us anything about it."

He raised an eyebrow and reached into his pocket, flashing the psychic paper at her. "Good thing I'm here, then. Emergecy technician, called in by the corporations. Who should I talk to again?"

"Well, about damn time. The morons up at the desk have had us locked in here for the past few _days_."

The Doctor's gaze followed her finger to the group of five hurrying around inside a large mahogany counter, his expression carefully blank. "You have no idea."

She frowned. "What was that?"

"I said, the shields only just let down. My transport's been trying to get in here for ages. Anyway, I should really go talk to them. Ta!"

He strode away, his long legs eating up the distance, and Rose sped up to get closer to him. "What was that about?"

He glanced down at her, his mouth tight. "These people have been trapped in here for a full century. I don't fancy telling them; do you?"

She froze, eyes scanning the black-clad crowds around her. "We've got to do something."

He sighed, spinning to face her and grabbing her shoulders. "And what would we do? It's awful, Rose, but we can't fix everything. Close your eyes and concentrate, Rose. What do you feel around you?"

She frowned and did as he asked, and River and Donna exchanged a glance and moved around them to the desk. "The air feels... sharp." She flinched, opening her eyes. "Ow! What the hell is that?"

The Doctor smiled half-heartedly, studying her intently. "You tell me."

"It feels like my skin fell asleep. I've got pins and needles all over."

"You haven't been practicing, have you?"

She scowled and gestured at her belly. "I've been a bit busy, if you hadn't noticed."

He smirked. "I'd think that would count more as evidence that _we've_ been busy." He ignored her groan, instead resting his fingers gently at her temples. "Right, now look around you."

She refocused and gasped, spinning around as she stared at the people around her. Glowing golden strands formed an intricate web from person to person. A deep hum was resonating from the tense strands, and Rose groaned. "Oh god, I can feel that in my bones. What _is_ that?"

"That is how a Time Lord knows whether not we can interfere with events—if the web were relaxed, I might be able to do something, but as it is things _have_ to happen as they will." He moved closer, glancing around. "Whatever happens next, we can't change it." A muscle twitched in his jaw, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Come on. We've wasted enough time."

River and Donna had not wasted their time—Donna was redirecting the lines of people towards the functioning teleport pads, and River had taken over one of the gleaming consoles. She looked up as the Doctor and Rose approached, her eyes lingering on Rose's belly for a moment. She shook her head slightly, her curls bouncing, and cleared her throat. "One of the passengers is trapped in limbo—they've locked all of the transport lines as outgoing, and now they can't open it up to get thon back."

Rose blinked and leaned closer to the Doctor, lowering her voice. "Thon?"

"'That one'. You can't think that grammar will stay the same forever, Rose." He peered at the screen, his brow furrowing. "It's an electro-mental interface, yes?"

River nodded slowly, watching both of them carefully. "My best guess is the passenger changed their intent before the clerks noticed—they've been sending people out of here for hours, it's honestly a surprise this is the first limbo."

"How low can you go?"

She turned to stare at him, her eyebrows arched high. "Excuse me?"

"Nevermind. Right! It's a fairly good lock they have on the system here, but if I reverse the polarity of the nuetron flow—a-ha." There was a blur of light at the teleport pad, and a dark figure took shape. Donna turned away from the clerks, sighing impatiently, and froze.

The passenger was a man; tall, dark, and handsome. He looked at Donna and opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Rose frowned, following his gaze back to Donna, and gasped. The redhead was white as a sheet. She only said one word.

"Lee?"

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	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

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The man—Lee, apparently—stepped off the teleport pad eagerly, striding over to Donna. She backed up, her hands up high. "Wait, how is this even possible? I dreamed you. You weren't real."

His face fell, and the Doctor leaned forward. His stage whisper carried through the sudden silence of the room. "Not the most romantic way to start a reunion, Donna." Rose elbowed him firmly in the ribs, and he grimaced and subsided.

"D—D—" Lee stopped, frustrated, and tried again. "You _f-found_ me."

Donna shook her head, her hand pressing against her mouth. "No, I didn't. I didn't even look, an' it's been months, and I..."

"You found me." He stepped closer and she stepped back, a pained choreography.

"I didn't."

"You're h-here, though."

River's head snapped up. "D'you hear that?"

Donna blinked and stared at her, shaking her head carefully. "No, what are you—?"

The Doctor flung himself across the crowded floor, grabbing hold of Donna with one hand while dragging Rose with the other. "River! Get over here! You, too, dream boy."

Lee's brows drew together, but he moved closer. River had left the desk, pulling a sleek pistol from her jacket as she joined them, and the Doctor turned to Rose. "Can you feel that reverberation?"

Rose closed her eyes and focused on the strands of time again and winced—the steady thrum of the tightly wound threads was now jangling loudly in a violent clash on her senses. The Doctor's voice broke in, and she opened her eyes to find him standing nose-to-nose with her, his eyes boring into hers. "We've got to get out of here, Rose. They're almost here."

She nodded shakily, tightening her grip on his hands. "What should I do?"

"I'll show you. Donna, Lee, River—hold tight." At that his mind flooded hers, and the world faded into a crush of sensations so intense that she nearly blacked out. Gradually, a slow staccato of thumps began to wash over her consciousness, beating in counterpoint to the steady _thump-thump-thump-thump_ that anchored her to the Doctor.

_Focus on me, Rose. Just listen to my hearts beating. _Her breath slowed as her hearts' frantic pulse steadied into his rhythm, the fluttering echo in her stomach calming as their hearts began to work in time. A tingle began to grow from the back of her skull, and Rose grimaced and began to pull away until the Doctor's mind reached out to sooth hers. _Shh, it's okay. Just trust me, and follow along. _

_What about not interfering?_

_Hard to interfere if we're not here. All right, focus on me, Rose—just me. And now... pause. _Their heartbeats slowed in their dance, stopping for a sliver of a moment as the slow cadence of single hearts around them beat on—all except for the three single hearts linked to theirs. _All right, now pull back... _she slowly sank back into her own skin, aching back and tender breasts and heavy stomach seeping back into her awareness. The air in the Library had stilled around them, dust motes suspended in their endless dance and harassed clerks frozen with mouth half-opened.

Donna stared at the unmoving queue, her eyes wide. "Oh, this is just _freaky_."

River's eyebrows drew together, and she watched the Doctor and Rose carefully. Even their breaths were in sync. "How are you doing that?"

The Doctor attempted a smile, but it came out as more of a pained grimace. His face was pale and strained. "Time Lord. Lord_s_, I guess. Come on, we have to get moving."

Donna shook her head, her expression still dazed. "Back to the TARDIS, then?"

He shook his head impatiently. "We've got to get to the Core. We can't leave the uh..." he glanced at River and switched his gaze back to Donna quickly, "unfinished business for them to find, now that they know a Time Lord was here."

Donna held up a hand, still staring around her. "Hold up. Who's _them_? What's got your knickers in a twist?"

He scowled and began to stride away, heading deeper into the Library. "Time Agents, Donna. A team not unlike the ones who almost killed all of us earlier, if you don't happen to recall that. Rose and I have managed to separate us from the rest of the Library's timestream, but it's not exactly _easy _to keep up_._"

He stumbled a little, his jaw tightening, and Rose slipped under his shoulder. She glared up at him. "Whatever you're doing, let me help."

He stopped, his eyes boring into hers. "Absolutely _not._ You have enough to deal with."

Lee shook his head, staring around them. "Wh... wha..."

Donna grabbed his hand and pulled him along, holding it so tightly her knuckles turned white. "Long story, I'll explain on the way—just come along, _please_."

River sighed and sped up, glancing around at the unnaturally still walkways with her pistol out and ready. "The Time Agency wants to kill us, we don't want to die."

Rose bit her lip against a grin as she struggled to keep up with the Doctor. "Not so long, then."

River's lips tightened into a flat line. "I've lived with it long enough to become _far_ too used to it."

The Doctor was watching her, his eyes on the slim gun she carried. "I'd say it could do with some lengthening."

She sent him a saccharine smile, her eyes amused. "Maybe later, sweetie. Until then, I'd rather survive than get chatty."

Donna pursed her lips together, tilting her head. "She does have a point."

They reached the Core, staring down into the hole, and the Doctor gasped in a breath and fumbled for his screwdriver. "Right, one elevator ride, coming right up. Or down, in point of fact." The platform shuddered into place and they hurried into the center, Donna stumbling and then clinging onto Lee as it descended.

River straightened, sliding her pistol back into place. "What's this about, Doctor?" His jaw twitched as he tightened his arm around Rose's shoulders, and River pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow, bracing her legs against the rush of air as they flew downwards. "We're running away from the one place guaranteed to be out of the Time Agency's reach—the same Time Agency that is trying to kill _all_ of you, if you'd forgotten."

Lee raised a hand awkwardly, looking back and forth between the Doctor and River. "N—not me."

She waved a hand in the air negligently. "You're with us, so they are now." He paled and she turned her gaze back to the Doctor. "Well?"

He was glaring at her, his shoulders set stubbornly, until Rose leaned in and spoke quietly into his ear. "She deserves to know something, Doctor."

He inhaled, his face tight, before letting out a loose breath that seemed to relax his whole body. "Fine. I've been here before, River."

She threw her hands up, rolling her eyes. "Well, of course. Anyone could see that." He stared at her, and she ran a hand through her messy curls. "Oh, honestly. You know your way through the Library without even looking, you understood the microsystems within a minute, and both you and Donna have been jumping at shadows ever since I first mentioned the place. And that's not to mention him," she finished, jerking her head at Lee. "It's a bit hard to have a reunion if you've never met, wouldn't you say?" The Doctor opened his mouth and closed it helplessly, and she sighed theatrically. "Not the most subtle person, are you?"

He snorted, straightening with a grunt. "Fine, yes, we have been here before. I left behind a piece of technology last time, and it turns out the Time Agency shouldn't get their hands on it."

She was watching him with an even gaze, her expression deeply skeptical. "That's it?"

"You're the one who's fond of short stories."

She snorted. "Not when my life's on the line."

"So are ours, if you'd recall."

Rose snapped. "_Enough!_" The Doctor recoiled, staring down at her, and even River's eyes were wide. "We are all in danger, all right? Let's just get this blasted tech and get _out_ of here before you fall apart."

The Doctor huffed out an annoyed breath. "I'm not going to fall apart."

"I've seen you run a marathon—from the battle of Marathon, I might add—and not even lose your breath. This, though, _this_ has you panting and winded like my Mum after a Christmas Eve shopping spree. So, how about you start working with River instead of keeping up this ridiculous stand-off?"

He scowled down at her, and she sent him a pointed jab of irritation. _We're on the run from people that are trying to kill her, it's only natural that she'd want to know where we're going. And for god's sake, you're trying to save her life. Maybe ease up on her a little, yeah?_

He sighed and leaned more heavily on her, pulling out his sonic screwdriver to slow the elevator as they as they hurtled into the Core. _Fine. But I still don't trust her._

_You sound like Tony, y'know._

His lips twitched faintly. _Shut up._

The elevator landed with a slow rustle of machinery, and the Doctor tightened his lips. _Over to the left, if you please._

Rose bit her lip, looking up at him. His already-pale skin was nearly white, a faint sheen of sweat clinging to his brow. There was a rustle on beside them, and a familiar auburn head of hair slipped under his other arm.

"Right, let's get this all sorted, shall we?" The Doctor smiled gratefully at Donna, and she rolled her eyes. "Oi, no time for getting mushy. Come on, Spaceman, let's get this cleared up so we can get out of here."

The maze of pipes and wires slowly gave way to an achingly familiar wall of consoles, and the Doctor swallowed heavily as he saw the chair where River Song—the woman next to him and yet not, the one who had lived through years of joy that this lost River had yet to find—had given her life for his. And yet, if what she'd said before was true...

He froze, causing both Donna and Rose to stumble. "Where's the sonic screwdriver?"

River huffed out an amused breath. "The _what?_"

"The sonic screwdriver! It had the neural relay, I left it plugged into the computer—it should be safe. Where the hell is it?"

River's eyes had narrowed at 'neural relay', and they widened suddenly in comprehension.

Just then, Lee dove forward as a figure appeared from the hallway, crashing into Donna. "_D—down!_" The Doctor curled himself around Rose immediately, dragging her to the floor with him, and River had her pistol out and aimed at the intruder in moments.

She put it back with a shaky breath as soon as the figure came closer. "Sweetie, you should know not to scare me like that. I nearly took your head off."

The person laughed, a light, joyful noise. "Keep telling yourself that." She stepped forward as the Doctor sucked in a harsh breath, the still lights of the computers glinting off her light blonde hair. She cocked her hip, holding up an upgraded sonic screwdriver. "Looking for this, Dad?"

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	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

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The Doctor's ragged whisper was pained. "Jenny?"

River and Rose had both frozen. River spoke first, her eyes on the petite blonde stranger. "Jenny!?"

Rose stared at the Doctor, her mind whirling. She cleared her throat and spoke. "_Dad?_"

Lee had helped Donna up from the floor and had been watching them warily, but now he cleared his throat. "The—the lights are moving again."

Rose's spine straightened as her Torchwood training took over, her mouth a thin line. "Right, back to the TARDIS it is. You—whoever you are—can either come with us or stay here, but we've got to be off. Doctor, can you get the lift working again?"

He nodded dazedly, his eyes still glued to Jenny's face, and Rose's jaw tightened. "Right, let's do that, then."

Donna was watching her warily before she looked back at Jenny, her eyes widening. "Rose..."

"Let's get back to the TARDIS before we talk, shall we? I don't exactly fancy getting caught by the Time Agency."

Jenny nodded her head, her lips pursed thoughtfully. "I'm with you. Need any help with him?"

Rose stilled, facing away from her. "I'm all right."

Donna groaned, rolling her eyes as they approached the elevator. "Blimey, you two are idiots. Lee, come over here and help me with the spaceman. Jenny, go help Rose."

Rose stiffened, staring at Donna with wide eyes. "I'm fine!"

"You are _not._ You're I don't know how many months pregnant with the number one target of those mooks, and Jenny here has had more than enough combat training to keep you safe. Now let's get moving, people." Lee slipped into Rose's place, helping brace the Doctor upright as he turned the elevator on, and Jenny moved over to Rose as River pulled out her pistol again.

Rose glanced sideways at Jenny, her thoughts roiling, and a pained thought came from the Doctor. _It's not what you think, Rose._

_Then what is it? 'Cause a surprise child doesn't exactly give a girl a boost of confidence, you know._

_Rose, she was just as much a surprise to me as she is to you. _

Rose blinked, her eyebrows pulling together. _How's that work, then?_

He unlocked his memories for her—the thoughtless soldiers with guns, the stabbing, singing pain of the machine and the mind-numbing shock of a light female voice saying, "Hello, Dad."

The grief as her life faded in his arms.

_I'm... I'm so sorry._

He gently soothed her chagrin, the weight of centuries brushing along her mind. _You couldn't have known. I don't exactly talk about it._

_Still... _

Jenny cleared her throat and leaned closer to Rose, watching the Doctor with anxious eyes. "Is he all right?"

Rose's eyes opened, and she smiled and reached out to squeeze the girl's hand. "He'll be fine once we get back to the TARDIS. We had to do a bit of work to block out the Time Agents back there, and he's just a little tired, is all."

_Just a little? I could sleep for a day. Is this what it felt like, being human?_

_Oh, hush._

Jenny's eyes widened. "That's the two of you. That's why the signal was so strong, it's not just him, it's both of you—you're a telepath, too."

A small smile tilted Rose's mouth as the elevator drifted towards the surface, the wind calming as they slowed. "Not just that."

"What d'you mean?"

"Well, I had an incident a few years ago, and I woke up Time Lord."

There was a resounding silence as the elevator slid into its dock, and Rose had to hide a smile at the gob-smacked expression on Jenny's face. The younger blonde cleared her throat, shaking her head as they made their way back down the hallways carefully. "Is that normal, then?"

The Doctor laughed once and winced, breathing heavily. "It's utterly impossible, but that didn't stop her." He grimaced, leaning heavily into Lee. "Right, the talking is a bad idea."

Donna snorted, rolling her eyes. "Oi, I could've told you that." She glanced back at River, her eyebrows furrowed. "Not that I'm complaining, but is there a reason we haven't run into any of the tall, dark, and scarys yet?"

At that, Jenny grinned almost ferally. "Well, it might have something to do with the beacon I set up in their ship a few minutes before I sent it off into the Vortex." She sighed and shook her head mock-regretfully. "They always park in the same places—no imagination."

The entrance hall was still buzzing with people, and Rose glanced in as they made their way to the empty room they'd parked the TARDIS in. The clerks were out of the desk, looking around dazedly. They had quite a story for their supervisors, and she didn't envy them the telling of it.

The Doctor sighed with relief as they reached the TARDIS, fumbling in his jacket for the key before Rose stepped forward, pulling her necklace out and slipping it into the lock. Donna bit her lip and looked around the Doctor's slumped figure to Lee as River, Jenny, and Rose entered. "Just to warn you, it's—"

Jenny's voice echoed out, full of laughter. "Bigger on the inside!" Donna winced and nodded, and they slipped in, closing the door behind them.

Lee gasped, his eyes widening, and Rose stepped up to him, resting a hand on his arm. "Here, let me take him." He passed the Doctor to her, staring up at the ceiling, and she bit her lip as she settled the Doctor's arm around her shoulder. "It's a bit overwhelming at first, I know—" she looked at Donna. "Maybe a cuppa?"

Donna chuckled, fiddling with the cuffs of her sleeves. "Blimey, you really are British, aren't you?"

"H—how?"

She jerked her shoulders up in an awkward shrug. "Does this work? No idea. But it does, and that's good enough for me." She glanced around at the rest of the room, but Rose had already disappeared with the Doctor, River and Jenny close behind them.

"Th—this is your life?"

She crossed her arms, looking down. "Not a bad life, I think."

He shook his head, running a hand through his dark hair. "N—no wonder you didn't look for me."

She froze, and he crossed his arms, his shoulders hunching as he stared at the floor. "No. No, that wasn't it at all—oh, please don't think that."

He shrugged, looking away, and she reached out to touch him before jerking her hand away. "Lee, that life I had with you... the house and the kids and the arguing over who gets to decide what's on the telly... that's the life I never really thought I could have. And that I got to spend it with you..." She laughed shortly and turned away, brushing a hand against the console. "I should've known it was a dream."

"But you get all th—this... I don't know what this is." She looked back at him, and he ran a hand through his hair again before shoving them in his pockets. "I could n—never offer you something like this."

"No." He flinched, but she continued. "No, but you were you, and we were happy. And that was enough for me."

He stepped closer, reaching up carefully to cup her cheek. "Th—that's enough for me, then."

She smiled as he leaned down, her eyes slowly fluttering shut as their lips met.

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	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

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The kitchen door slid shut behind River, and she gestured tensely at the table. Jenny sat down with a bounce, staring curiously around her. "It's been years sine I traveled in a ship with a full kitchen—ooh! D'you s'pose he has bananas?" She stilled as River handed her a mug of tea. "I hope he's all right."

River shrugged, circling her spoon in her mug of tea. "Rose is with him, I'm sure he'll be fine."

Jenny nodded, biting her lip lightly. "Right, right. Rose." She looked down, tapping her nails gently against her mug. "She seems nice, right?"

River's eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't know. She's _your_ mum." Her jaw tightened. "Was it funny for you, watching me scramble around while you knew all the answers?"

The blonde stared at her. "What? No! Is _that_ what you're thinking? No wonder your adrenaline's so high."

River's lips firmed into a straight line. "Stop it. You know I hate it when you do that."

Jenny cocked an eyebrow, her eyes lighting up with mischief. "You didn't mind it on Midia."

River's hand tightened on her mug. "Yes, well that was before you vanished." She cleared her throat. "I kept looking for you, you know—I called and called and I damn near created a paradox with how many times I visited the Library, until James stopped me But you were just gone."

Jenny paled. She reached across the table for River's hand, but the archeologist flinched away before she could reach her. Jenny sighed softly, tightening her hand into a loose fist. "I'm sorry, River. I'm so sorry."

The older woman smiled tightly. "Those seem to be very popular words. Too bad they're not worth much."

Jenny drew in a breath, tilting her head. "River, don't be like that—"

River slammed her mug on the table, her milky tea spilling across the glossy patina of the table. "Stop it. Don't you sit there, all smiling and reasonable—you _left_ me when I needed you most, Ana. Or, no—it's Jenny, isn't it?"

"Do you think I wanted to? You and James—no matter where we were, if I was with you, I was home. To have to leave that..." Jenny looked away and fiddled with her tea, dipping her finger in the liquid and drawing absentminded patterns on the table. A shadow passed over her face, and she sighed. "And it's both, actually. After I was created, Dad refused to call me anything but 'a generated anomaly'. It was Donna that gave me an actual name."

River leaned back, studying Jenny carefully. "Hence 'Dr. Noble'."

"Dr. Ana Molly Noble." She grinned impishly for a moment, and River rolled her eyes. Jenny sighed, slouching down and crossing her arms. "_I _thought it was funny."

River smirked, wiping up the mess on the table before she took a sip. "I'm sure you did." Her plain gold wedding band glinted in the light, and Jenny's lips tightened a fraction as she nodded at it. "So you and James, huh? I never thought you were one for monogamy. 'Old-fashioned and simple-minded', I think you called it."

River blinked and looked down at her hand, then chuckled softly. "You're very predictable, did you know that?" Jenny's mouth dropped open in outrage, but her protest lodged in her throat when River pulled out a small gold ring on a chain. "We had to guess what size you wore—wasn't hard, really. We both had plenty of experience with your fingers."

Jenny swallowed harshly. "You... you've been wearing it all this time?"

River smiled softly. "James had one, too—just in case he found you first."

Jenny bit her lip, blinking rapidly. "Both of you?"

"Always."

She opened her mouth, closed it, cleared her throat. "I thought you'd hate me."

"I tried, but... I _know_ you. Whatever happened, you didn't just run off on a lark."

"It was you." River froze and Jenny babbled on, her words crowding together in their hurry to get out. "You came to me after the incident on Pevash and insisted I had to stay away for a while, that I couldn't see or contact you or James again until today." She paused, watching River carefully. "Where... where is James?"

River swallowed, looking down. "He's gone, Ana. Jenny. Whatever your name is." She caught Jenny's horrified look and smiled miserably. "Oh, he's not dead—at least, not according to his friends—but you, me, everything we were fighting for... it's gone. They wiped him, Jenny. He had no idea who I was. Well, beyond the book."

"Oh, _River_."

Her face crumpled at Jenny's whisper, and she clenched her hands into fists. "I really missed you, love. Are you _sure_ it was me?"

Jenny leaned across the table, gripping River's fists and coaxing them loose. "I'm sure, River. It was _not_ her." She paused and smiled, cocking an eyebrow. "You look good as a blonde, by the way."

River blinked. "What, seriously?"

Jenny tossed her ponytail, smirking. "Not as good as me, of course, but what can you do?"

"Oh, shut up." River bit her lip, taking a deep breath. "And it was actually _me_ me?"

Jenny smiled, her eyes soft and sympathetic. "Every inch of you."

River's eyes shut as she let out a shaky breath. "I was beginning to think I'd be Flesh-hopping forever."

Jenny rested her chin on her linked hands. "They don't know, do they?"

Her lips tightened. "It's my business, I can handle it."

"How long do you have left in this body?"

Her jaw clenched, but after a long moment River answered. "A week."

Jenny pursed her lips, raising her eyebrows. "Don't you think you should warn them, in case you end up as a puddle on the floor? You might not have had to deal with it, but trust me, the cleanup is hell." She pulled out the cobbled-together screwdriver, twirling it idly between her fingers. "Not to mention, the neural relay's already full."

River stilled. "That's me, isn't it?" Jenny nodded, and she sighed. "Thought so. Say what you like about your father, no one can call him subtle." Her lips curled up. "He is a bit dishy, though."

Jenny rolled her eyes. "That's my _dad_ you're talking about."

She shrugged. "I'm just being honest."

"Like that time you propositioned the president of Burundi in front of her husband?"

"He was a bit too distracted by James to mind, if you'd recall."

Jenny laughed quietly, but her smile soon faded. "You said he wasn't dead, but... what happened?"

River looked down, tracing the grain of the tabletop. "The Agency has him. They tried to ambush your family earlier, but your dad and his friends stopped them. They didn't realize all the black ops teams are sabotaged from the moment they receive their assignments." Her lips tightened. "If a mission goes wrong... no survivors, no witnesses."

"Then... how are they all alive?"

She sighed and shrugged. "James recognized it, and he got us all in here. He'd be in here, too, if it weren't for that device he grabbed. I still have no idea what was _so_ important."

"I can answer that for you, at least." River and Jenny jumped, startled, and spun to see Rose standing in the doorway. She smiled tiredly at them, walking over carefully to join them. She grimaced as she sat, rolled her shoulders with a sigh. "It was a prototype he'd been working on, a trans-temporal beacon linked specifically to the TARDIS. Apparently he didn't trust the Doctor's communication skills." Her lips quirked up. "I can't say I blame him for that, but if the Time Agents had gotten their hands on it? We'd have walked right into their hands, and he wasn't about to let that happen." She bit her lip, blinking rapidly. "He talks about himself like he's a coward, but he's one of the bravest men I've ever known."

Her shoulders tensed, and she straightened her spine. "Which is why we're going to get him back. My little one's not going to grow up not knowing her godfather."

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	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

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The Doctor's eyes opened slowly, and he blinked and stretched lazily as he stared at the coral ceiling of their bedroom. Rose was nowhere near, but he could feel her and the baby humming gently at the edge of his consciousness—as well as someone else. "It's rude to stare, you know."

There was a soft chuckle and Jenny settled herself at the end of the bed, folding her legs as she leaned back. "According to Rose, you're one to talk." She paused. "Or should I call her Mum?"

"Dunno how she'll feel about that, since you look about her age." He sat up, taking in a shaky breath. "How long has it been?"

She shrugged, looking away. "I don't know. Long enough." She glanced back at him, smiling wryly. "You're a hard guy to get ahold of."

"If I'd known—" he broke off hoarsely, closing his eyes. "_How?_"

"Best I can tell is, my body shuts down whenever I'm seriously injured. It always seems to take a few hours to get things back online."

"Always—_what!?_" he sputtered, straightening with a jolt. "How many times has this happened?!"

"Just a few! And look, I'm right here! It's nothing to worry about."

"I will _always_ worry about you." He swallowed heavily as they stared at each other, and then she was in his arms.

She closed her eyes as she leaned into his shoulder, sniffling against the sudden threat of tears. "Dad."

"Oh, Jenny." He clutched her closer for a moment before pulling away, bracing his hands on her shoulders. "You are never to do that again, do you hear me?"

She lifted her chin stubbornly. "If it'll keep you safe, I won't make any promises."

The Doctor closed his eyes and hugged her again, sighing into her hair. "I should've expected that, I suppose. I'm already used to it from Rose." His lips pulled into a slight pout. "Actually, that's not true. I'm not used to it. I can't stand it, but I doubt it's going to change."

Jenny laughed and sat back, her eyes dancing. "Well, I guess neither of us are going to let you get hurt, then. Too bad for you."

"You're both mad."

"We both love you."

He raised an eyebrow and sighed, a slight smile pulling at his mouth. "You're both mad."

She shrugged easily, and they subsided into silence. She stared down at her hands, playing her fingers gently against the heavy burgundy coverlet. "So, a wife and baby, huh?" Her eyebrows flickered up, but her eyes stayed stubbornly down. "Coulda sworn you said there weren't any other Time Lords out there."

"There weren't."

"So, how did the four heartbeats in the console room happen? 'Cause I have to say, I've been looking for a while, and I haven't run across _anyone._" She glanced up. "Big universe, though. I'm sure we've got plenty more time to look—"

"_Jenny_." She shut her mouth abruptly, and he sighed. "There really isn't anyone else."

"You said that last time, but look at Rose."

The side of his mouth curled up, and his eyes glazed a little. "Trust me, I do."

"_Dad_. I'm happy for you, I really am, but I don't want to know."

The Doctor smirked, settling back against the pillows and grimacing as his shirt twisted around him. He looked back at Jenny, who'd been watching him expectantly, and sighed. "There really aren't any others, Jenny."

"But—"

"Can't you feel it? The emptiness in your head?"

She shrugged with one shoulder, staring at the coverlet again. "I can feel you, and Rose and the baby."

"And no one else?"

Her shoulders slumped. "And no one else." She paused, looked up. "There's no way anyone else survived?"

His jaw clenched, his whole body stiffening. "No."

There was a soft knock at the door, and Rose leaned in. "Doctor? You all right?"

He blinked, then forced himself to smile. "I'm fine."

She raised an eyebrow. _Really? So why does it feel like you want to go hide in a black hole somewhere?_

_Nothing, no reason._ A pulse of skepticism came from her, and he sighed and sat up, grimacing as he tugged his shirt into place. _Later?_

_All right, fine._ "Jenny, I think River's almost got the parts we need from your vortex manipulator, but there was some muttering and cursing when I left."

Jenny winced and got up, heading for the door. "Ooh, I'd better go check that out. That generally happens right before things start blowing up."

Rose chuckled and smirked at the Doctor. "Don't I know it."

The door clicked shut behind Jenny, and Rose slipped onto the bed and into the Doctor's arms. "Blimey, it's been a weird few days." He laughed into her hair and pulled her closer, drifting his hand carefully over the swell of her stomach. The soft glow of their child brightened, and he couldn't help the small, private smile he pressed against her hair. Rose leaned into him, her voice slowing with exhaustion as she continued. "I mean, we've got two kids now, _and _a daughter-in-law." She wrinkled her nose. "And a son-in-law, sort of."

He froze. "What?"

She blinked sleepily up at him. "River and Jenny—they're married. Apparently Jack was once a part of it, too."

"_WHAT?"_

She shrugged, nuzzling into his shoulder. "I know. I don't really understand the dynamics either, but they seem happy."

He shifted her onto the bed, clenching his fists. "That's it. I'm going to find him, just so I can kill him myself."

Rose grabbed his hand before he could leave, sighing in irritation. "Oh, bolllocks. Doctor, she's a grown woman, and she met Jack before he ever met us. Hell, she met Jack before he was Jack."

"Still, she's my daughter, and..." he shuddered. "He's kissed me, you know."

"And me, but you don't see me wigging out."

"Well, she's not _your_ daughter." There was a sudden arctic breeze in his mind, and he paused and tugged on his ear. "I mean..."

She scowled at him, her jaw clenched. "Just go away."

The Doctor paused before sighing and moving closer to the bed, his brow furrowed. "Well, technically speaking, she isn't, Rose."

She struggled into sitting up, resting her crossed arms on her belly. "According to your memories, I've spent about as much time with her as you have, now."

He frowned, tilting his head. "How long was I out?"

"About sixteen hours."

He paused and blinked, which was when he noticed her eyes were swollen with tears. "Wait, this really has you that upset?"

"I'm trying, Doctor. You spring a kid on me and conk out and I'm left to find Jack, who is most likely dying and also somehow our son-in-law. But wait, he's only _your_ son-in-law, right?"

"Rose—"

She turned into the bed, curling up against his pillow. "Just leave me alone."

"No. No, I won't." He settled on the bed next to her, trying to ignore how she flinched away from his hand running along her side. He snorted softly, staring at nothing. "I've never been very good at leaving things alone, why would I start now?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"Rose—"

"I _want_ to be her mum." He paused and stared at her, and she sniffled quietly as she continued. "I love her already and she's been through so much, an' maybe it's selfish of me, but she's your daughter and she's a Time Lord and I don't want this part of you to be locked away from me."

"It never could be." The Doctor snorted softly, leaning over her side to catch her eyes. She looked up at him warily, her shoulders still tight, and he smiled wryly. "Rose, don't you understand? Everything I am, you hold in your hands." He leaned closer, shifting down to press a soft kiss into her lips, and after a moment she smiled against his mouth. He paused, leaned back. "What?"

"'S not the most comfortable position for kissing, is it?"

"No, it's really not."

There was a knock at the door, and Donna's voice rang out. "Oi, you'd better be dressed in there. We've got a lead."

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	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

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Rose groaned, beginning to roll over, but the Doctor caught her shoulder before she could sit up. "Wait wait wait—where do you think you're going?"

She scowled. "To go find Jack, where d'you think?"

"No, no you're not."

She let out a disbelieving snort, her eyes narrowed. "Excuse me? Didn't we just go over this?"

The Doctor shook his head impatiently. "You're exhausted, Rose."

"I can handle it—"

He groaned and rubbed a hand over his face, reaching up to tug on his hair. "Oh, blimey. I'm suddenly feeling sorry for _Mickey_. That's just not supposed to happen." She was still trying to sit up, but he grabbed her shoulders carefully and stared down at her. "Rose, you've spent how many hours awake now?"

She pinched her lips, refusing to meet his eyes, and he sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "We're married, Rose. Partners. But how can be we equals if you never let me help you?"

She raised her eyebrows, but settled begrudgingly back onto the bed, stifling a yawn. "You _do_ see the irony in that, don't you?"

He smiled at her as he pulled their duvet up around her, laying a soft kiss on her hand. "Rose, you help me more than you could ever know. Now it's my turn. Get some rest."

Her eyes were slipping shut even as he grabbed his jacket from the chair and his shoes from the floor, slipping out the door quietly. Donna was waiting there, her arms crossed and her foot tapping, and she snorted as she saw him. "Well, it took you long enough."

"Rose needed to get some sleep."

She raised her eyebrows, pursing her lips consideringly. "Blimey, and you convinced her too? Well done, spaceman. I've been trying for the last five hours."

He scowled lightly as they headed back to the console room, glancing sideways at her. "You don't need to sound so surprised."

She rolled her eyes. "There's no need to whinge about it. She's more stubborn than anyone I've ever met, is all."

The Doctor smirked at her, amused. "I don't know if I'd go that far unless you've met yourself."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"I'll believe that when pigs fly."

He raised his eyebrows. "So you want to visit Rigel VII, then?"

She squinted at him. "What?"

"Well, you're the one who brought it up." He snorted as they entered the console room. "Honestly. You humans and your attention spans."

Lee straightened. He'd been resting against the wall, arms crossed, until the Doctor arrived, and now he worried his lip as he watched the Time Lord. "S—so what are you, then?"

The Doctor and Jenny answered in chorus, her voice echoing strangely from under the grating. "Time Lord." She popped her head up, a smudge of grease smeared across her nose. "Blimey, Dad, d'you _ever_ clean up under here? It's utterly stuffed with junk."

His jaw dropped in outrage. "It's not _junk!_"

"I just found a bag full of old candy wrappers." She rolled her eyes as she hoisted herself up onto the platform, brushing her hair out of her face impatiently. "Is that why it's so much bigger on the inside? To hold all your junk?"

He scowled at her while River hid a grin, crossing his arms. "_She_."

Jenny wrinkled her nose. "What?"

"Not it, _she. _The TARDIS is not just some machine—she's alive."

River raised her eyebrows, and Lee paled. "W—what?"

Donna patted his shoulder and leaned closer, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "Yeah, I don't like to think about it either."

The Doctor sniffed. "You're all bigots. Now, I believe you had a reason for dragging me out here?"

Jenny bounced to her feet, holding up a thick leather strap. "That'd be this."

His face darkened like a thundercloud. "How did you get your hands on a vortex manipulator?"

"With some very careful fluttering of my eyelashes." She paused and grinned. "And some knock-out gas."

"Jenny!"

Donna rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Like you haven't done that. Granted, without the eyelash fluttering. Although..."

He huffed out a loud breath. "Still! Where did you even get something like that?"

Jenny exchanged a glance with River before clearing her throat discreetly. "Anyway, I've managed to hack the software before—they really didn't put any good safeguards on them—but there's a tracer program running in the background that I've never managed to get a hold of."

The Doctor had been inspecting the vortex manipulator, but his head snapped up at that. "Is it still running?"

She frowned, twirling the end of her ponytail loosely around her finger. "I've got it blocked, of course. Just because I can't find it doesn't mean I can't deal with it."

"Then how did they track us to the Library?"

She arched an eyebrow. "You're kidding, right?"

"Does it look like I'm kidding?"

"You guys were giving off a telepathic signal I could feel from across the quadrant."

He snorted. "Not with my shields."

"And Rose's?"

His jaw clenched. "Not even a Darjilaan could get through her shields. I made sure of that."

Jenny's lips pinched together, and suddenly Donna could see the echoes of the years she'd spent searching for her family in her eyes. "And the baby's?"

"Don't be ridiculous, she's not old enough—" There was a sleepy trill of curiosity against the edge of his mind, and he blinked and focused on the soft gold of the baby's presence, wrapped up in Rose's. It sharpened as he focused on her, and the Doctor shook his head hastily and sent her back to sleep before she could wake Rose.

Jenny was watching him carefully, and he swallowed and closed his mouth as she spoke quietly. "You might want to get on that. It's no fun being attacked while your shields are down." His eyebrows furrowed, and she cleared her throat and raised her chin. "I've opened up the source code all of the Time Agents use—or at least the ones who aren't black-ops—and Rose was able to link it up with the TARDIS so that we could get a reading on where they all are."

The Doctor raised his eyebrow, still watching her carefully. "And what good does that do?"

She rolled her eyes. "I was _getting_to that."

Donna pursed her lips. "He's got the attention span of a mayfly. You get used to it. Eventually."

Jenny ignored the Doctor's indignant "_Oi!_**"**, sighing, "I hope so. _Anyway_, as I was saying, there's a tracer program embedded in the code for every single one—I've never managed to get a comprehensive look at it, but with the TARDIS's resources, we might finally be able to get a fix on it, and if we track that, it'll lead us straight to the Directors."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "How can you be sure it'll lead you to them?"

Her mouth straightened into a firm line. "They're obsessive about having control over their Agents, and they're incredibly paranoid. There's no way that information is going to anyone but them."

Donna frowned thoughtfully. "Why are you so sure they're the ones who've got Jack?"

It was River that answered. "He's a rogue Time Agent with a spontaneous case of immortality and several Time Lord friends. They won't let him out of their sight."

Donna snorted. "If rogue Time Agents are that much trouble, why'd they set 'im loose in the first place? Why not just—" she drew her finger across her throat, and Jenny and River flinched.

Jenny cleared her throat and spoke, her voice flat. "Ego. They can't imagine a worse punishment than having what _they_ have and losing it. For anyone else, though? One quick, subtle push, and Mommy never meets Daddy."

"So, we're going after a bunch of egomaniacal control freaks who can travel with ease through time and space, and who have no compunctions about erasing people from history." There was long silence, and Donna groaned. "Oh, nothing can go wrong."

River huffed out a nervous breath, and Lee raised his hand. "One q-question. Who's Jack?"

The Doctor sighed and got to work.

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	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

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Lee rested his shoulders against the wall, his arms crossed as he watched the others. The Doctor was staring at the vortex manipulator and muttering to himself, and Jenny and River were talking quietly as they checked over their weaponry.

Donna joined him, her shoulders tight and her brow pinched with worry. "You don't have to come with us, you know."

He let out a shaky breath. "Y—you're going."

"Yeah, but I'm used to things like this."

A crooked smile played across his face. "You make a habit of breaking into top s—secret organizations?"

"Only if they're evil!" She paused. "And it's generally a lot less planned."

"You enjoy stuff like th—this?"

Donna sobered and settled next to him, her side a warm weight next to his. "I... I don't know. Beating the bad guys is always worth it, I guess, but... sometimes I wonder if I'm strong enough for this." She jerked her chin at the Doctor, who had pulled out his goggles again and was examining the circuitry. "I don't know how they do it, to be honest. You see so much out here, and the beauty of the universe can be staggering, but there's so much ugliness, too."

"I never t—took you for superficial."

She flinched, stung, and he snorted with laughter at her affronted expression. She rolled her eyes and smacked his shoulders playfully. "Oh, ha-bloody-ha. You're a regular comedian."

An amicable silence settled over them, and they quietly watched the Doctor quarreling with River and Jenny as the women loaded their guns. Lee turned to her as the Doctor threw his hands up in the air, his voice quiet and halting. "I d—don't know Jack. Or any of these p—people, really. But... if they're important to you, they're imp—portant to me. I'm going with you."

She smiled up at him, blinking back tears, and took his hand.

Over by the console, the Doctor looked up, his face grim. "Hold onto your hats, everybody. We've found 'em."

ΘΣ

The doors creaked open, and Donna peered out carefully as River and Jenny slipped out, guns at the ready. She frowned, stepping outside carefully. "What is this place?"

They were standing in an overgrown clearing, the half-shattered lapiz lazuli flagstones covered in deep purple moss. Cracked and gleaming glass towers surrounded them, and faint sparkles of dust drifted through the air.

But it wasn't dust. Donna leaned closer to a glittering particle, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully, and flinched as a larger piece collided with her cheek, drawing a faint line of blood. She stepped back, slapping a hand against the cut and staring around them, her eyes flicking back and forth. "What the hell?"

The Doctor's voice echoed out of the TARDIS. "It's glass." He stepped out, shrugging into his sweeping overcoat, juggling two small devices in his hands. "Well, not so much glass as carbonized callupropate, but you'd probably think of it as glass." He looked down at the ramshackle devices in his hand and glanced back up at Jenny, his brow wrinkled. "You're sure these'll work?"

She let out a short, sharp breath, glancing over at River. "They're the only things I've found that block vortex manipulators, and the Directors _will_ have the motherboard with them. I've ever managed to get the whole thing connected, but if we work together we should be able to strand them in both time _and_ space."

He nodded grimly, glancing around them. A green sun blazed above them, tracing emerald shadows into the ground where they stood. "River and Lee, you're both 51st century natives. And no matter how much the Directors might travel, this is still their native time. The two of you have the best chance of understanding their machines—Jenny, you'll get Lee to the machine, and Donna, you'll play lookout for River. And remember—these have to go in _at the same time_ for this to work."

Donna narrowed her eyes as River and Lee took their devices. "And what about you, space man?"

His jaw tightened. "I'm going after Jack. I've left him behind before, and I'm _not_ doing it again." He gave a sharp glance to Jenny. "Estimated population?"

"No more than eight at most. The Directors are incredibly distrustful—there's the head of security, Mitchell Langdon, who also heads the black-ops teams; head of scientific exploration and research, Eva Paradon; head of operations and publicity, Prishar Galoon, and the Chief of the Time Agency, Tal Kaloi." She looked around at the rest of the group. "None of them will have more than one bodyguard with them, but those guards will be the most dangerous operatives in the whole of the agency. Stay alert, all of you."

Donna moved closer to the Doctor as they moved forward, her voice lowered carefully. "What is this place? Something feels... weird here."

"It's a nexus. Those buildings? Used to hold the Parliament of the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire. Whole galaxies where changed because of what happened here, and with all the adjustments the Time Agency's made, even a human like you can't help but feel that." He shifted uncomfortably, his shoulders tight. "Be glad you're not a Time Lord."

She looked over at Jenny, who was moving with the same wire-tight strain as the Doctor, and grimaced. "Believe me, I am."

There was a flicker of movement at the corner of her eye, and she spun to face the black-clad assailant—but somehow Jenny was already there, her legs flashing out to slam against the back his kneecaps, knocking him into the ground. She knelt on his back, one hand darting out to grab his wrist and the other pressing her gun against the base of his skull. _"Don't. Move." _He stilled, holding his hands out, and she wrenched his wrist around behind his back before reaching into her utility belt, pulling out a small canister.

The Doctor stared at her, agog, as she sprayed the contents onto his arm, the foam hardening into a thick shell within moments. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"This?" She thrust his other arm behind his back and sprayed more on, twisting where she sat to spray it on his legs, as well. "Underground bazaar in 73rd century Albion."

"Not _that_, the time-skipping!"

She glanced up at him as she patted the agent over briskly, tucking his gleaming weapons into her satchel carefully before slapping a shining silver panel over his mouth. "Meditation. Lots and _lots_ of meditation." He opened his mouth to protest again, and she rolled her eyes. "Later, Dad? I'd put good money on this being Galoon's operative—he never has learned the meaning of the word 'subtle'—so there are still seven people out there." The agents eyes had widened at 'Dad', and Jenny narrowed her eyes at him. "In the meantime, let's get him out of the way."

River helped her hoist him up, grunting a little at the weight of him. "How is it that you're half my size, but he weighs as much as a tissue to you?"

The Doctor sniffed as he joined them, hoisting up the agent's legs and aiming the sonic at a nearby portal. "Advanced physiology. Now come on, let's not waste time." They slung him inside a nearby closet and hurried back outside, and the Doctor blinked at Donna as she and Lee startled and turned back to them. "You've put your hair up."

Donna glanced at Lee and shrugged. "Didn't want it getting caught on anything. Come on, then. No time like the present." Lee twitched at that and she cleared her throat. "Still got that virus, River?" The archeologist nodded slowly, and Donna jerked her head decisively. "Right, then. Let's get moving."

The Doctor frowned. "We have to be careful, Donna. We can't just go rushing in there."

"Sure we can. Carefully." She spun on her heel, striding off towards the center of the towers with Lee, and the Doctor, River and Jenny looked at each other before hurrying after her.

The Doctor caught up to her quickly, his long legs eating up the distance, and he turned to talk to her as they walked. "Where are you going?"

She gave him a dry look. "To the big shiny place in the middle, Dumbo. What, d'you think a bunch of time-traveling egomaniacs are going to hole up in an outhouse somewhere?"

"They don't use outhouses in the 51st century, Donna."

"_No._ Really? I had no idea."

The Doctor glared at her, squaring his shoulders and huffing indignantly as he took the lead. "There's no need to be like that."

"Sure there is. You're being an idiot." There was a flicker of movement around the next corner, and her eyes widened and she grabbed the Doctor's arm, yanking him back. "Wait! We can't go that way."

"And why not?"

"Because... it's obvious, of course. They'll be expecting us to come that way."

His eyes narrowed. "They don't know we're coming."

She snorted and jerked her head towards River. "We've escaped from them twice, both times with somebody who's got a_ bit_ of a grudge against 'em, and they snagged our friend. If they're anywhere as paranoid as Curly and Blondie over there say, they've been waiting for us."

River's eyebrows rose. "'Curly and Blondie'?"

Lee chuckled quietly. "S—she does that. I was Gorgeous f—for the first month or so."

The archeologist's lips quirked. "Not exactly the same thing."

Jenny snickered, scanning the surrounding area carefully as they moved forward. "No need to sound so disgruntled, love."

The Doctor glared at them all. "If we have to be so very, very careful, maybe we could do with a bit of hush."

Donna rolled her eyes. "Someone's got his pants in a wad."

"Someone doesn't want this to go badly." She reached over and grabbed him, pulling him to an abrupt stop. He glared at her, snapping, "_What?_"

She nodded at the ground, where a wire-thin beam of red light shone a few inches above the ground. "_Someone_ needs to watch where he steps."

Jenny groaned as she dug into her utility belt, pulling out a small, two-pronged apparatus. "Gods, would you two stop with the 'someone'?" She twisted it in two and set it on the ground, adjusting it until it split the beam neatly into a doorway just large enough for them to get through.

River rolled her eyes as she walked through, waiting for Jenny to close it behind them. "They always say you shouldn't meet your heroes."

The Doctor paused, momentarily distracted from his bad temper. "I'm your hero?"

Donna snickered. "Yeah, you might want to look up that saying before you get all chuffed."

Lee cleared his throat. "We're h—here."

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	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

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They stood in front of a towering building, a cathedral of glass and metal that gleamed in the pale light.

Donna snorted. "They weren't self-important at all, were they?" Jenny laughed as she peered in, her eyes darting around looking for triggers and sensors. She frowned.

"Right, that's odd. I know this building—I've broken in before—" the Doctor yelped, and she ignored him—"and they definitely used to have more defenses."

Donna shrugged. "Why look a gift horse in the mouth?" River and Lee stared at her, and she crossed her arms. "What? It's a saying."

The Doctor was watching her carefully. "You're very relaxed about this, Donna."

"Would you rather I be sweating bullets?" Lee looked confused again, and she pursed her lips. "It'sa_ saying_."

"P—people said strange th—things in the old d—days."

"Yeah, well, don't look at me. _I_ didn't come up with 'em."

The Doctor raised his eyebrow. "And yet despite all this fascinating talk of idioms, you're still acting strangely."

She shifted closer to Lee. "Bit rich, coming from you."

Lee jumped. "W—what was that?"

The Time Lord's eyes narrowed. "Oh, no. Not anymore of those distractions and excuses. _What_, exactly, is going on?"

Jenny's voice cut into the tension, worry underlying her strident cheer. "I think they might know."

He twisted to answer her, looking aggrieved. "Yes, thank you, that's why I was asking them."

"Not them. _Them._"

His eyes widened and he turned back slowly, his eyebrows tightening as River and Jenny's guns were raised and cocked.

Two women in black were standing in the chrome entryway, looking smugly amused. The one on the left, a pale blonde with crystalline beads in her thick braids, smirked down at them, crossing her arms as she cocked her hip. "I was wondering when you'd notice us." She pursed her lips, surveying the Doctor. "So you're the living legend. I was imagining someone a bit more... substantial."

He straightened angrily, his eyes blazing. "Oi!"

She raised an eyebrow. "Not that I can't see the appeal."

The Doctor's jaw dropped, and he turned to Lee. "What _is _it with the 51st century? Wait, no. You don't need to answer that."

Donna glared at him. "_Rude._"

"And not ginger."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Jenny's jaw twitched. "Dad? Mind paying attention to the highly trained operatives bent on wiping us out?"

"Right! Right." He spun back to the Time Agents, clasping his hands behind his back. "What were your plans for us, by the way?"

The olive-skinned brunette spoke this time, her arm slung around the blonde's shoulders. "Darling, I think I'll leave that up to your imagination."

He scrunched his nose thoughtfully. "No imagination, me. Come on, just a little hint?"

She grinned, and Donna recoiled. Her teeth were as sharp as a shark's. "Well, since you asked so nicely." She slunk forward, her hips rolling with a fluidity that wasn't human. "First, we'll lock you up for some fun. Then, we'll find your mongrel bitch of a mate and slice that little abomination out of her." She leaned close to his ear, her voice lowered to a purr. "Your time has passed, Time Lord. This is _our_ turf now."

His lips pulled sideways, and he sighed. "See, you just made several mistakes." He glanced at Donna and cocked an eyebrow. "D'you want to enlighten her?"

"For one thing, you just told him your plans. He tends to specialize in messing up people's plans."

"Thank you, Donna. That wasn't the only one, though. Lee? Any suggestions?"

"M—moving closer."

He nodded, slipping his hands in his pockets. "Yes, that's another. And then, you made one final mistake—River? If you would share?"

River's lips twisted humorlessly. "You ignored Jenny. People tend to do that. Once."

The brunette frowned. "Who—?" a sharp cry cut her off, and she spun. The blonde was stretched out on the ground, her crystals shattered on the stone floor. Broken shards dug into her skin, staining her fair hair with crimson. Jenny was kneeling on her back, her face contorted with anger. "That little abomination? That's my _family_."

The brunette reeled back, her golden eyes wide. "Who _are _you?"

Jenny stilled, but a small, feral smile grew on her face. "I'm the one that got away."

"You're a _Time Lord_?" She shook her head, backing away. "No wonder she couldn't get you."

Jenny's hands flew down to brace the blonde's head as the brunette reached for the gun in her thigh holster. "Ah ah ah. You do that, she dies."

The brunette's lips peeled back into an inhuman snarl. "You think I care?"

The Doctor stepped closer to her, his breath brushing against her neck. "You might not, but you should be glad I do."

She spun to face him, and he lifted the sonic screwdriver with a flourish. "Surprise!" Green sparks were flying from her gun, and she yelped and reached around her back, yanking out another pistol that was spitting small flames.

She glared at him, cradling her seared hand. "What the hell did you do?"

"I distracted you."

"Wha—?" A flying blonde figure cut her off, tackling her around the ribs and knocking her to the ground. River moved closer, kneeling down heavily on her back as Jenny bounced to her feet, pulling a translucent robe out of her belt.

Donna blinked. "Blimey, where'd you get all this stuff?"

Jenny grinned, tying intricate knots around the brunette's flailing arms. "For some reason people keep trying to lock me up—must be your influence, Dad. It tends to get a bit boring after a while, but at least I get to keep the souvenirs."

Lee was shaking his head, and Donna lowered her voice. "You okay?"

"Y—yeah, fine." He chuckled half-heartedly. "It's a b—bit much, you have to admit."

She watched the three others efficiently binding the two Time Agents, the brunette snarling viciously at them through Jenny's spray gag, and cocked an eyebrow. "It is a bit, yeah." She glanced back at him and grinned. "But you have to admit it's fun." There was a flicker of movement around the corner as blonde hair whipped back behind it, and her eyes widened. She turned to the others. "Right, we need to get out of here. They weren't exactly quiet in tracking us down, and we can't assume that nobody else heard."

River straightened with a frown. "We can't just leave them here."

"Well, then chuck 'em somewhere, but we've gotta go." The Doctor's eyes had narrowed again, and Donna huffed out an irritated breath. "Listen, Time Boy, I may not have been traveling time and space for centuries—not that I believe that, since you act like a four-year-old most of the time—but I can tell when we should stick around and when we should get moving. And now? We need to get moving."

"S—she's right."

The Doctor's lips tightened as he and Jenny shoved the Agents into an empty room. "And what would you know about it?"

Lee straightened and jerked his arm to his shoulder, then straightening his arms with a flourish. "L—lance Corporal Leonard McAvoy, of the Albion Interp—planetary Forces."

Donna paused, blinking at him. "Really? Leonard?"

"W—why do you th—think I go by Lee?"

"Fingers on lips!" Lee quieted, but River and Donna just glared at the Doctor, who frowned at them.

Jenny spoke, her voice heavy with amusement. "Has that _ever _worked?"

He muttered something that sounded like "_Rose did it_"—Donna's eyebrows rose skeptically—before clearing his throat. "If you're so blasted worried about them hearing us, maybe cut the chit-chat." There was a small computer terminal set into the wall, and he turned to it with a grimace, the low buzz of the sonic thrumming through the air. After a moment he turned back to them, his face grim. "Right. I know where they are."

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	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

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Their footsteps echo down empty hallways, dust and debris swirling around their feet. Whatever happened here, it wasn't pretty, and it wasn't slow. Donna flinched as they passed a skeletal corpse in regulation attire, the fabric more durable than the flesh and blood it had once contained. "Why would they choose a place like this?"

River's lips tightened. "It satisfies their sense of celebrity." They passed a small guard station, manned in eternity by the near-human corpses and her voice turned venomous. "And their sense of the macabre."

Lee's eyes lingered on the dutiful dead. "Have they no r—respect?"

She barked out a sharp laugh. "Why would they? They consider the dead weak. They aren't like the Agency. They haven't conqueredhistory." She spat into the dust, her eyes flashing with anger, and Jenny wrapped her arms around the taller woman's waist.

"It's okay, River. We're going to stop them."

River took in a deep, shuddering breath, straightening her jacket as she stepped away from Jenny. "Sorry. It's just... I'm an archeologist. I've devoted my life to history, and they're _defiling_ it just because they can."

The Doctor cleared his throat, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I think some of my old teachers would've liked you." Donna sent him a suspicious look and he clasped his hands together, rocking back on his heels. "All right then, they should be on the next floor. According to the schematics, the outlets you'll need are on the opposite sides of the room—you'll have to split up to get there simultaneously. Keep each other in sight if you can, but _hurry._"

Donna frowned, her eyebrow raised skeptically. "And what about you?"

"I'm going for Jack. They've got him in some sort of holding chamber in the center."

She sighed. "If you get yourself regenerated, _you_ get to tell Rose what happened." She turned to Lee and cupped his cheek for a moment, a small smirk tugging at her lips. "I'll see _you_ later. C'mon, River. Let's go."

River and Donna disappeared down the hallway as Lee and Jenny headed up the stairwell. The Doctor watched them go and tightened his jaw, sending out a silent thanks that Rose was safe in the TARDIS. She'd always been brave, his Rose, but her time in Pete's World had changed her in more ways than one. Sometimes her reckless courage was near enough to give him a heart attack, and considering he had two, that was saying something. He still didn't know what had changed her first regeneration, if it could be called that, and despite some of Mickey's dark hints Rose wasn't telling.

If she was awake, he had no doubts that she would be right beside him, glaring stubbornly up at him despite all common sense. Thank Rassilon for small mercies. At least Donna hadn't tried to force her company, something he'd been half-convinced would happen.

But the mystery of Donna's compliance could wait. For now, he had a rogue Time Agent to rescue.

Fortunately for him, they weren't alone in the building.

ΘΣ

The screens of the security office flickered back and forth between Donna and River, Lee and Jenny, and the Doctor. The woman perched in front of them, studying them intently, wrinkled her nose. "Blimey, do I really look like that?"

Rose leaned back in her chair, wincing as she adjusted her posture. "I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure you've heard that old thing about cameras and ten pounds."

Lee frowned, looking up from the display. "What old th—thing?"

Donna waved her hand absently. "It's nothing."

Rose settled further into her chair, scowling at her swollen stomach. "You know what really _does_ add pounds? The blasted Time Agency."

The other woman in the office rolled her eyes and leaned back further against the wall. "Oh, stop complainin'. It would've happened anyway, they just sped it up." She brushed her blonde-tipped hair impatiently out of her face. "Besides, you're starting to sound like Jackie."

The seated Rose scowled at the Rose against the wall. "Oi!"

"You know it's true. I'm you, remember?"

Rose scowled and scooted further down in her seat, crossing her arms belligerently. "How could I forget? It's not often that you get woken up by your future self insulting you."

The older Rose groaned and thumped her head against the wall. "I was just saying that Mickey was right, is all."

"It's a _great_ thing to hear when you're exhausted."

Donna rolled her eyes, spinning away from the monitors. "Will you two cut it out? You're being ridiculous." The older Rose opened her mouth, and Donna's eyes narrowed. "_Both of you._"

"Th—they made it." Lee leaned closer, watching the other Donna and Lee on the screen as they moved closer to their outlets, and he grinned as the other Donna spun and laid out the Time Agent who had appeared next to them. "Good shot."

Donna blushed. "Thanks, but I haven't done anything yet."

"Y—you will."

The Rose in the chair looked up as River and Jenny attached the devices, watching the screens intently as sparks raced from one side of the machine to the other. "Four agents down, and the vortex manipulators taken out." She spun in the chair, staring up at her older self. "It's just the Directors, then."

The older Rose's lips tightened. "There's nothing 'just' about them. But you've seen enough."

Rose straightened in her chair. "It's not over yet."

"It is for you."

"We can keep going, we can help them more—"

Rose stepped away from the wall, staring down at her younger self. "I know how much you want to. Hell, I know how much _I_ want to, but we can't. Time loops are tricky things, we know that, and I'm not risking the Reapers coming down on us. They're close enough already, with all of the Agency's experiments. You have to go back to this morning."

The younger Rose stilled, watching her older counterpart carefully. "We really are turning into him, aren't we?"

She stilled, but a small smile crept onto her face. "It's not such a bad thing."

"Despite what he would say." They shared an identical grin, and Donna and Lee glanced at each other. Lee raised his eyebrows, and Donna shook her head. The younger Rose nodded to herself. "Right. Back to this morning, then. I'm going to be furious at myself for waking me up, aren't I?"

Rose laughed and stood away from the wall, careful to keep a wide radius from her younger self. "Oi, I survived, didn't I?"

The younger Rose frowned as she got up from the chair. "And what happens to you now?"

"I go help."

Donna jerked to her feet. "Oh, don't be ridiculous!"

The older Rose shook her head impatiently. "It's going to be fine, Donna, don't worry about me. They're not getting a hold of me. They're not getting their dirty hands on anyone _ever _again. Now, come on." She focused on her younger self, raising her eyebrows impatiently. "You've got a schedule to keep."

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	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

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Donna bit her lip and peered over the fried console as River pulled out her pistol, checking the room carefully for reinforcements. A tall, slender man came charging into the room, his pale silver eyes sunken into his paper-white face. Donna gulped and ducked down. He looked like a living negative, his brightness glowing in the shadowy room. His mouth opened wide and a long crimson tongue darted out from between blue teeth, flickering obscenely as he scented the air. He snapped his mouth shut, ducking back towards the doorway. "Langdon! Get your avian arse in here, we've got intruders."

"Oh, bra-_vo_, Galoon. I never would have guessed." A feathered figure waddled into the room, and Donna blinked as River tensed beside her. If Prishar Galoon looked like an alien angel, Mitchell Langdon looked like a space mongrel. His barrel chest thrust forward above a tiny waist, his legs scarcely as long as Donna's arms. He tilted his head sideways, the mottled feathers along his neck rustling with the movement. "I'm sure all of our operatives merely decided to take a break. At the same time."

Galoon scowled. "If they hurt Godfrey—"

"Of course they hurt your precious Godfrey, you ridiculous prawn. Taloi decided to go after the Time Lords. None of us are safe."

Galoon rolled his eyes, an eerie look without pupils. "I don't see why you're so almighty afraid of them, Langdon. It's one blasted family. What harm can they do?"

"You have no idea what you're talking about, do you? The lone traveller?" His voice lowered. "The Bad Wolf?"

The other alien snorted. "That's just a legend, you superstitious loon."

Langdon straightened and glared up at Galoon, but he still only reached the other man's ribs. "The history books would say otherwise."

"The history books also said some immortal demi-god preserved the Earth after the Dalek invasion."

"Who do you think it is we have in the kronos chamber?"

"_Bond?_" Galoon laughed outright, his teeth glinting in the dim light. "The only think that imbecile's going down in the history books for is number of intergalactic STDs."

"Bond's not his only name, as you well know. You lot may have lost interest in him after you dumped him, but I've been keeping track." His voice lowered to a trilling whisper. "That's Jack Harkness."

"That's _the_ Jack Harkness?" He laughed, an oddly guttural sound. "Well, you've surprised me. I wouldn't have thought the hero of Torchwood would scream like that."

"If Paradon got her claws into you, you'd be screaming, too."

Galoon sniffed. "It can't be that bad."

"You really don't know, do you?" Langdon shook his head. "Why are you even here? Go back to your cameras and your press conferences."

Galoon snarled at him, a vivid dark smear across his pale face. "I've just as much of a right to be here as you do."

They broke off as the center of the vault-like room shook and rose from the floor, revealing a thick, wall-like force field and gleaming lights. There was an oddly dissected pod in the center of the enclosure, and a willowy, pale woman was standing next to it. An expression of pure disgust marred her elegant features. "You cretins may be quite willing to sabotage all of my research, but I am not so cavalier. If you don't silence yourselves, I'll never be able to take accurate readings." The force field flickered and faded away and Donna slapped her hand to her mouth, fighting the urge to vomit.

Jack was trapped in the pod, his limbs closed off in the different sections in some bizarre mockery of a patchwork quilt. His head still looked the same, but his torso—his torso was the shriveled and liver-spotted chest of an ancient man, the wrinkled skin hanging loosely off his bones. His right arm was much the same, but his left was tiny, barely more than a newborn's. His legs were lengthening and shrinking as they watched, the bones and muscles thickening from adolescent coltishness to the scarred stockiness of adulthood. River choked out a small noise beside her, and Donna glanced at the archeologist. Her face was eerily set, but her eyes were blazing with anger.

Galoon snorted, drawing their attention back to the Directors. "For the last time, you can drop the speech, Paradon. We know where you're actually from."

"That matters not."

"'Matters not'? Listen, I know you've been all through time, but you're in the 51st century now."

Langdon's head sunk back into his shoulders, the thick ruff of feathers around his neck flaring out. "Quiet, Galoon. As you yourself said, we're not alone."

He snorted. "What, the puny life-forms in the corners?" Donna tensed and River cocked her gun, and Galoon rolled his eyes. "They're nothing to be worried about." He lifted his arm, typing a combination into his wristband, and frowned at it. He looked up at Langdon. "Did you decide to lock me out of the system again?"

"Do I look like a fool?"

Galoon snorted and smacked his wristband. "You don't want me to answer that."

Langdon and Paradon shared a long-suffering glance, and Langdon replied. "You're as much a part of the system as I am, despite how many times I petitioned otherwise."

"Will you _ever_ stop lying?"

His feathers stiffened into an angry crest. "I beg your pardon?"

Galoon shoved his wristband at Langdon, his voice taking on a distinct edge. "Nothing I do works."

"Gee, wonder why that is." The directors spun at the light, mocking voice, and the Doctor stepped out of the shadows. He shrugged. "Personally, I'd look into the machines that are currently puffing out smoke, but that's just me."

Galoon stepped forward, hand drifting down to the holster at his waist. "Who are you?"

"Me? I'm nobody." He raised an eyebrow as Galoon pulled out his gun. "You don't want to do that."

Galoon's silver eyes narrowed. "Don't I?"

"You lot use electro-kinetic charges in your guns, don't you?" The Doctor clicked his tongue against his teeth. "Funny thing about that design—you really don't want to be holding that when the charge gets reversed."

The alien snarled. "And how would you do that?"

The Doctor pulled the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket, twirling it in his fingers absently. "Oh, I'd just use this old thing. Cobbled one together ages ago, and I haven't looked back since—I'd explain how it works, except I doubt you'd understand."

Galoon straightened to his full height, towering over the Doctor... who still looked remarkably unimpressed. "I am Prishar Galoon, Lead Director of the Time Agency, and I will _not_ be spoken to that way."

The Doctor's eyebrows shot up. "Lead? Your associates would disagree, I think." He cocked his head to the side, looking past Galoon to the others. "By the way, I would advise against trying to trigger the defense system like that. That little virus I inserted _really_ doesn't like being disturbed."

Paradon paled, staring at the smoking machines, which had begun to spark even more as she and Langdon approached. "What did you _do?_"

"Useful little gadget from the 87th century—telepathic AI. I've got to say, given what it knows about you, it's not exactly a fan."

Galoon blinked. "Well, no. It's an electronic impulse."

Langdon groaned, his feathers fluffing up angrily. "That's not what he means, you imbecile."

"The Doctor." Langdon froze as Paradon continued, her eyes narrowing in anticipation. "You're the Doctor."

The Time Lord doffed an imaginary hat. "Well, it's nice to be recognized."

She smiled, and it wasn't a happy sight. "He talks about you. Well, not so much talks as _screams_." Her teeth gleamed in the dim light. "Faith like that is so rare nowadays, don't you think?" The Doctor paled and clenched his jaw, his eyes darting over to Jack's enclosure, and Paradon huffed out an amused chuckle. "Why, do you actually care? He wasn't so sure after the first few hundred years."

The Doctor's hands clenched into fists. "We've been on your trail since the beginning—sloppy work hiding your tracks, by the way. But there's no way you've had him for that long."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Here I was thinking you were some sort of time travel expert. We might not have had him for very long, but he's been our prisoner for centuries. It's rather touching, how long he believed you would come for him."

The Doctor's eyes darkened dangerously, and Donna reached out for River's arm without thinking. She'd seen him like that before, but only a very few times—and those were the times she wished she could forget. No matter how obnoxious or even sweet he could be, there was a storm waiting beneath the surface. His hand whipped up, but as the sonic lit up a small pistol was pressed into the base of his skull. He froze, and Donna's hand tightened into a vise-like grip on the archeologist's arm.

The person holding the pistol was River.

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	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

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The River across the room smirked, cocking her antique wooden pistol. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Donna's eyes narrowed dangerously, and she turned to the archeologist right next to her. "I could ask the same thing."

Across the room, Jenny peered over the edge of the opposite burnt-out console, her eyebrows drawn together. River closed her eyes, letting out a long breath. "That's not me."

Donna snorted. "What do you mean, that's not you?" Her eyes narrowed. "Is that you from a different point in time, then? How does that make it any better?"

"No!" The archeologist looked almost insulted. "With me right across the room? I would _never_ be that stupid."

Donna looked away quickly, focusing on the group of Directors again. The Doctor was speaking to them, his voice too low to carry across the room. "So how d'you explain that?"

River let out a soft breath and closed her eyes. "Donna Noble, meet Tal Kaloi."

"So is she your twin, or what?"

She ground her teeth together. "Nothing that innocuous. I haven't been... totally honest with all of you."

Donna's eyes narrowed. "And what do you mean by that?"

"I'm not completely River Song." At Donna's glare, she raised her hands. "Listen, I _am_ River, but this isn't my body. I've been using the Flesh for four years, because that?" She nodded at the Director. "_That_ is my body."

"What, you swapped minds?"

"Oh, no. She'd never leave her body unprotected. It's on ice somewhere, I think. Anyone that bothers the Agency, that looks too closely, she barges her way in and wipes them out."

The Doctor was on his knees now, glaring up at Kaloi, and Donna frowned. "So how are you still here?"

"Unexpected expedition." River closed her eyes, running her hands through her hair, and sighed. "I used to leave my body at home when I wasn't using it—made it easier to switch between flesh and Flesh, since all of my equipment was there. Then Kaloi got her hands on it, and I've been switching bodies ever since."

"Lord, this is just too weird. You're talking about your own flesh and blood like it's just a sweater that you throw on when the weekend comes around."

River's lips tightened. "Listen, I know you're from the Primitive Centuries, but things are different where I come from."

"Yeah, but it doesn't seem like they're any better."

Her jaw tightened, but she didn't say anything. A laugh echoed through the room, and they focused on the Doctor and the Directors again. Tal Kaloi was wiping mirthful tears from her eyes as the Doctor glared at her over his shoulder. She'd bound his hands at the wrist, and her wooden pistol—and Donna wanted to know how the hell she'd known to have that—was pressed tightly against the base of his neck. She began to speak, and Donna's eyes narrowed. The voice may have been River's, but it clearly wasn't her speaking—the cadences were all wrong, Kaloi's voice almost hissing out of River's mouth. "Oh, that's so sweet. You actually think you can threaten me?"

The Doctor's voice rumbled through the still air, sending chills down Donna's spine. "You have _no _idea who you're messing with."

"Don't I?" Kaloi paused and tapped her finger against her lips. "Doctor, the. Last of the Time Lords, the Oncoming Storm, the Bringer of Darkness—oh, and the one I particularly like. 'Time's Champion'. You do pride yourself on that, don't you?" His jaw clenched tight, and she leaned closer. "And yet none of this would've happened without you. The Time Agency exists because of you, you know. I'm sure you think of yourself as a nameless wanderer, but the universe cries out in your wake, and once in a long while... people listen."

The Doctor glared at her. "Who _are_ you?"

She sighed and rolled her neck. "Oh, I doubt you'd have heard of my planet—"

"_Try me_."

Kaloi chuckled. "You do like to get bossy, don't you?" The Doctor narrowed his eyes, and she reached out and tapped him on the nose. "Oh, fine. I'll indulge you." She braced her hand on her hip and leaned back, staring up at the ceiling. "My parents had a forbidden love. Well, it was more like a drunken, lonely fumble, but the result was the same—me. Mother was a human, which didn't sit too well with my father's people, and neither did my parent's insistence on keeping me. In fact, that went over_ so_ badly that they exiled my father. Now, my parents were trying to work out a relationship in the middle of the whole mess, but they were anything but perfect. Which is why, when my father disappeared, Mother thought he'd pulled a runner—but when she tried to contact him, all of her leads turned up blank. What's more, no one had even heard of the planet where they'd met. When she finally tracked him down, he was living in a monastery and had never been off-planet."

She smiled crookedly. "No one has ever been able to explain to me how I survived. Mother was arrested for disturbing the peace when she tried to confront my father, and when he refused to acknowledge her—or me—she was sent away from Valhoun and told to never come back. She spent the rest of her life trying to figure out what happened." The Doctor drew in a deep breath at the name of the planet, and her face went blank as she stared at him. "But _you_ know, don't you?" A small, joyless smile tilted her lips. "After all, you did it."

His voice was rough with desperation. "Valhoun _had_ to stay isolated. If they'd expanded, their empire would have been right in the path of the Daleks."

"It's all so simple to you, isn't it?" She let out a rough breath. "And yet you have to gall to come here and lecture us."

He shifted against his restraints, his voice rising with anger. "Did you even hear me? Countless people would have _died_. That's not the same as fixing the textbooks for the highest bidder."

"You have your excuses, we have ours. Who's to judge who's right and who's wrong?"

"You have no _idea_. Your pitiful little brains can't comprehend the true scope of what you're doing. It's a miracle the Reapers haven't appeared yet."

Kaloi's nostrils flared, and she pressed her pistol against his forehead. "You know what? I think I've gotten tired of you." The sound of a feminine throat being cleared tore her attention away from the Doctor, and she looked up. A very angry, very pregnant Rose Tyler stood in the doorway, the slim, gleaming device in her hand pointed directly at Kaloi. The Director snarled. "Do you actually think you can shoot me before I shoot him?"

Rose's lips quirked up. "No. But then again, this isn't a gun." She jammed the button and a high-pitched whine filled the air. Kaloi and River both flinched and dropped their weapons, and Rose's smile grew. "It's a psychic disruptor."

Kaloi shrieked and dropped to the ground, and River grabbed Donna's arm. "Stop them. Whatever happens to me, save James and _stop them_."

"What are you talking about? River? RIVER."

The archeologist didn't respond, instead curling into herself—but no, she wasn't curling. She was collapsing. Donna's hand flew up to her mouth as River's body melted in front of her, spilling to the ground in a milky puddle.

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	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

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Donna looked up, hands shaking, at the rest of the room. Rose had pulled out a regular gun as well, and she and Jenny had Langdon and Paradon under control as Lee wrestled Galoon to the floor. The Doctor was scowling at Rose's gun as he struggled to free himself, and if she hadn't just watched a woman _turn into a bloody puddle_, Donna would have hurried over to help him. She cleared her throat. "So are we just going to ignore that _River_ is _gone_?"

Jenny glanced over with a small smile, keeping her gun trained on Paradon. "She's not gone, just a little out of sorts." She tilted her head. "Might explain why her mind seemed a little fuzzy around the lot of you."

The Doctor inhaled sharply as his eyes widened. "You've established a telepathic bond? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is without training?"

Her chin lifted stubbornly. "Who says I didn't have training? I've spent a lot of time out there, Dad, and I've seen things you wouldn't believe."

"I _highly_ doubt that."

Langdon's jaw fell open, and he clicked his beak together with a snap. "_Dad!?_"

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Oh, didn't you realize? You've managed to piss off not one, but an entire family of Time Lords." She gave him a gleaming, fake smile. "Good job on that, really." Paradon flickered forward, a long, slim blade in her hand, and Jenny barely hesitated before cocking her gun and firing. The director fell to the ground with a howl, clutching her bleeding kneecap, and Rose's lips curled up as she focused back on Langdon. "I'd advise against copying her, if I were you. My aim may not be as good as Jenny's, but neither is my patience." He swallowed heavily, looking at the Doctor warily.

The Time Lord had managed to jimmy the sonic out of his pocket, and as soon as he'd freed himself he strode over to Jack's capsule. He snorted, the muscles in his jaw twitching. "And Kaloi acted like she had the moral high ground." He rested a hand against the glass and closed his eyes. "It'll be all right, Jack." As Jenny and Rose bound the Directors together, the Doctor hurried around the machine, wincing at the strangled cries and whimpers of pain that began to echo out of it as he twisted dials and flipped switches.

As the compartments of the capsule slid together with a dull grinding, he spun around and whipped his sonic out, watching impassively as the machines circling the room began to spark and burn.

Paradon screamed, thrashing angrily against her bonds. "What are you _doing?_ That's years of work down the drain, millennia even!"

He turned to her, eyes dark and frighteningly calm. "It never should have existed in the first place."

"There's no knowing how much we could've learned, you narrow-minded imbecile."

With a flicker of movement, the Doctor was suddenly glaring directly into her eyes, his face centimeters from hers. "At what cost?"

"It's not like my experiments would be permanently fatal."

The Doctor leaned back, his eyes focused, unseeing, on Jack's enclosure. The cries echoing from it began to echo around them, louder and louder, until they suddenly cut off. The Time Lord closed his eyes. "You haven't lived long enough to realize that death can be a mercy."

There was a loud whirr across the room, and he looked up to see Jenny plugging her ramshackle sonic screwdriver into the wristband on River's body, which had so recently been hissing threats into his ear. She gasped and arched up, her green eyes flying wide, and froze as she met Jenny's gaze. She cleared her throat and spoke. "It's you."

Jenny laughed, biting her lip. "It's me."

She threw herself up and into Jenny's arms, choking on a sob. "It's been so long—I was beginning to I'd never see you again." She pulled back before yanking the blonde into a messy kiss, clinging to her tightly.

The Doctor scowled and cleared his throat. "_Ahem._ Parents in the room."

River froze and pulled back, staring over Jenny's shoulder at the Doctor while turning a violent shade of red. "Oh, gods. I came onto you, and _you're my father-in-law_."

Donna laughed, shooting a wicked glance at the Doctor. "People make that mistake all the time. Well, the first part at least."

Rose raised her eyebrows, her eyes still locked on the bound and gagged Directors, as the Doctor scowled. "Oi!"

"Can't deny it's true, spaceman. Honestly, you're nearly as bad as..." the mirth faded from her voice as she turned back to the segmented capsule. "Jack."

She stepped closer, but the Doctor blocked her way. "Don't. Not yet. He isn't fully healed. It... isn't a pretty sight." His jaw clenched, and for a moment Rose lost her breath at the ghost of blue eyes and shorn hair.

River stood shakily, resting her arm around Jenny's shoulders. "He'll be all right, though?" He cast her a worried glance, and she smiled sadly. "Yes, I know he's not my James anymore. Took long enough, but it did finally sink in."

Jenny made a soft sound of disappointment. "How long have you been gone?"

The archeologist pressed a kiss against her forehead, quietly breathing in her scent."Too long."

The capsule began to shudder, and the Doctor edged closer. With a flash from the sonic, it stilled, and the doors began to rise. The body inside began to flail, and Jack hurled himself out onto the floor.

Rose handed her gun to Lee and was beside him in a moment. She rubbed his back gently as he wretched onto the smooth stone floor, biting her lip when he flinched away from her touch. "Jack? Jack, we're here. You're safe."

His eyes blinked open, and he stared hazily up at her. "Rosie?" His voice was hollow and strained, and she desperately dug her nails into her palm to keep from crying. A weak smirk creased his face. "There'd better be... a fun reason... I'm naked."

She sobbed and threw her arms around his shoulders, and he let out a _whuff_ of breath as the swell of her belly pressed into his side. "That's_... _new."

The Doctor grimaced, leaning closer. "It _really_ is." Jack's eyes went wide as he heard the Doctor's voice, and he jerked his head around to stare at the Time Lord. The Doctor smiled awkwardly. "Hello, Jack." The immortal stared at him, struck silent, and the Doctor winced, his knuckles tightening to white. "We were always coming for you, Jack. You weren't abandoned."

River cleared her throat, stepping closer. "Doctor, Rose—nice as this is, we should be going soon. We might've cut off their transport, but there will still be Agents on their way—there's no way the Directors wouldn't attach a distress signal to their system."

Paradon narrowed her eyes, but Jack blinked as he stared up at her. "I... I_ know_ you."

She smiled softly at him and reached down to caress his cheek gently. "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away."

His jaw fell open. "River." His head lolled to the side, and he stared at the Doctor's daughter. "And Jenny."

She jerked her hand back, her green eyes wide. "_What?_"

Jack chuckled painfully. "Turns out... when you grow your brain back... from scratch... things get... jogged loose." His expression tightened. "I'm sorry."

River sighed softly, her blinking back tears. She reached back, gripping Jenny's hand tightly. "You don't need to apologize, Jack."

Donna cleared her throat gently. "What we _do _need is to get out of here." A broad grin split Jack's face as he caught sight of her, and she smiled softly at him. "Good to see you, ya lump." She glanced up. "Lee?"

He nodded at her and scooped up Jack, holding his battered body carefully, and the Captain's blue eyes widened appreciatively. "Who's... this?"

Donna raised her eyebrows, quirking her mouth to the side. "Oi. Hands off, Jack."

"He's the one... with the grabby hands."

River snorted as she and Jenny dragged the Directors to their feet and forced them into a march, Rose hoisting her gun as she led them to the TARDIS. The Doctor took up the rear, his glower was focused entirely on Rose the whole time. The muscles in his jaw twitched as she led the rag-tag group forward, collecting the tied-up Time Agents and prodding them along. The doors to the TARDIS creaked open ahead of them as Rose snapped her fingers, and the Doctor's jaw clenched as they all entered. "How did you know about that?"

She glanced at him, confused, and set him a soft prod mentally. _Shared memories, remember? _His shields snapped up, and she reeled back onto her heels, face suddenly pale. _Doctor? What's wrong?_

He reached under the grating and pulled out a smooth silver canister, yanking the doors open and released the pin, hurling it outside before racing back to the console. "We need to be in flight _now._"

Jenny's brows tightened as he and Rose moved around the console, setting up the dematerialization sequence as quickly as they could. "What was that?"

"Just a little thing cooked up by an old friend of mine." He yanked the final lever as a blast from outside echoed through the TARDIS, deafening in its intensity even through the sealed dors. "She called it Nitro-Thirteen—come to think of it, that might have something to do with why thirteen is so commonly considered an unlucky number."

Donna's eyebrows rose. "Because of your friend."

"She was rather memorable." Rose moved away from the console as the shaking gave way to the relative stillness of the Vortex, but the Doctor stayed at the controls, twisting around it easily as he filled in new coordinates. He glanced back at the Directors and the Time Agents, then turned to Lee and Donna. "You'll need to take Jack to the infirmary. Donna, you know how to set up the full scan—get him in there."

She raised her eyebrows but nodded, following Lee as he carried the Captain carefully out of the console room.

The Doctor's face darkened as he turned to face their prisoners. "Now, it's time to deal with you lot."

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	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

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The Doctor glowered at the captive Directors and Time Agents, reached under the console, and pulled out a sleek rifle-like device. River's eyes widened. "A defabricator? James is going to be heartbroken to miss this."

He glanced at her impatiently and his jaw tightened. "Calm yourself. I modified this centuries ago."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "And it still works?"

He ignored her, powered up the silver gun and aimed it at their prisoners. With a whir and a flash of white light, their heavy wristbands vanished along with Paradon's wireless earpiece and Galloon's slim audio set. The Doctor stowed the gun away and pulled out a small epidural, injecting each of them with a small shot. "Right. Now get out the doors."

Rose straightened, huffing in pain as she shifted forward. "What did you do?"

"Removed all of their electronics, all of their implants, everything metal or silicon-based." He grabbed Galloon by the shoulders, dragged him to the door and threw him out before turning to the rest, glaring at River and Jenny. "Get them out of here."

Rose frowned as Jenny and River began to push then out, watching the Doctor warily. "What was that needle?"

"You, go rest." She opened her mouth to object, and his voice rose. "I know you're tired. _Go._"

Her eyes narrowed. "Not a chance. What did you just do?"

The muscles in his jaw twitched, and he glared at her. "Only what they attempted to do to us. They'll go outside those doors and live out their lives alone, with no future generations to pollute this place."

"_Tell_ me where we are."

The Doctor snorted. "Like you'd even recognize it."

River and Jenny stepped back inside as Rose's jaw dropped, their hands clasped unconsciously. River cleared her throat. "This is in the Dagmar system, isn't it?"

He nodded sharply and stepped up to the console, setting them in the dematerialization sequence.

Rose clenched her hands on the jump seat as River and Jenny slipped into the corridor. "You're just, what? You're just going to _leave_ them there?"

The Doctor closed his eyes, the tension in his shoulders loosening abruptly. "It's a kinder fate than they deserve, Rose. Vidun may be abandoned, but it's a fertile planet. They'll be able to survive without harming anyone or anything else."

"And sterilizing them was absolutely necessary."

"Like letting them procreate wouldn't be harming the planet." He looked up at Rose, his eyes hard again. "You know what they're like."

"That's not for you to decide, Doctor."

"This planet is rediscovered in two hundred years. There is no living population." His lips tightened. "I'm not going to change that just because you had a fit of conscience."

Rose sighed, suddenly exhausted. "I'm not asking you to. I'm going to bed."

"Good."

She paused, just watching him, before her shoulders fell and she walked away.

The Doctor looked down at the console, staring sightlessly at the ramshackle controls, before Donna's voice interrupted his reverie. "Well, you've made a right mess of things."

He blinked and looked up. "What are you talking about?"

The redhead stepped into the room, curling up on the jumpseat and watching him levelly. "Jenny filled me on your plan. I don't think Rose looked that upset even when her baby bump got jump-started."

The Doctor frowned. "They had to be dealt with, Donna."

She shrugged. "Not denying that, Doctor. But maybe you could try lookin' a bit less like you want to strangle the love of your life."

He flinched before sitting heavily next to her, dragging a hand through his hair. "When I heard her voice out there... I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life." He turned to her, brown eyes wide and unseeing. "She has no idea what they could've done to her, Donna."

"Actually, I'm fair certain she does." She arched an eyebrow at him. "What do you think her whole plan was about, you dunce?"

"I can't even articulate how ridiculous that plan was." He glared at her. "What the hell were you thinking, going along with her?"

"I was thinking that she knew what she was doing, and guess what, spaceman?" Donna leaned closer. "_She did. _She's not the same girl you lost, Doctor. It wouldn't kill you to have a little faith in her, and despite what you seem to think, it won't kill her either."

He looked utterly stricken, almost as stunned as when she had (first) smacked him right across his never-ending gob. "But... I do. More than anything else, Donna, I believe in Rose."

Donna arched an eyebrow. "Have you ever tried telling her that? Bugger that, have you ever tried acting like it?"

"I..." The Doctor clicked his mouth shut, his eyes will wide. "I have to go talk to her."

"_No._ Really!?" He blinked and looked at her, and Donna rolled her eyes. "Go, you plum."

The Doctor nodded silently and took off down the corridor, sending a quick thanks to the TARDIS for giving him a route that bypassed the med bay, where he heard Jack and Jenny's voices raised merrily. He paused outside their bedroom door, taking in a deep breath before opening it. The room was dark, but he could hear the distinct choked whimper of Rose trying to calm her sobs.

The Doctor closed his eyes. He really shouldn't know what that sounded like. "...Rose?"

"Go away."

He closed the door gently behind him. "No."

The sheets shuffled as she turned away from him, her voice muffled in the heavy fabric. "What do you want?"

"Rose, I..." He swallowed. "I'm sorry." Her connection flared in his mind, and he felt her unflattering surprise wash over him. "Oi, it's not _that_ strange for me to apologize." She sent him a flurry of images, all times when he had stubbornly refused to admit a mistake, and he sighed. "Fine, point made. But that doesn't change what I'm saying now. I... you scared me, Rose. Terrified me, more like. The thought of anything happening to you, to our child—" he broke off and cleared his throat as he approached the bed, settling on the end. "I'm sorry I was so harsh to you earlier, but I'm _not _sorry I left you in the TARDIS. You may hate it, but I will always consider your safety first."

Her anger scorched him like a heat wave. "You arrogant prat."

"What!?"

"You honestly think those bastards would've been content with you, if they knew there was a new generation of Time Tots brewing?" He opened his mouth, but she cut him off. "_No_. They would've done what they wanted to you and then come after me just the same, so you don't get to pretend like you were being a self-sacrificing hero when really, you were just being an idiot. I saved your arse out there, and guess what? I did it while pregnant." Her voice broke as her shields faded, and a maelstrom of hurt flooded him. "What's it going to take for you to stop treating me like I'm glass? I'm not weak, dammit, and despite what you seem to think, I'm not stupid either." She caught a flash of twisting emotion from him and sighed, turning around and taking his hand. "You're not alone, Doctor. You don't have to carry everything by yourself."

He got up, grasping at his hair, and she narrowed her eyes as his shields flew back into place. "What?"

"It's nothing."

"What you're feelin' right there? That's not nothing." His shoulders firmed as he stuck his hands in his pockets, and she frowned. "You've got your shields up full and I can STILL feel that." She shifted into a sitting position and touched the small light on the nightstand, filling the room with a soft glow. "Doctor, what is it?"

"It's nothing, Rose."

She caught a stray thought whispering past his shields, and her eyes widened. "What does this have to do with me changing?"

His eyes widened as he glanced back at her, but his body stayed firmly facing away. "What? No. It's nothing."

An aggravated hum moved through both their minds, and his shields vanished in a wave of golden light. She jerked back as if she'd been struck. "You think it'd be _better_ if I'd never changed?"

The Doctor glared at the ceiling, but the TARDIS's chime in his head was distinctly unrepentant. "I didn't say that."

"No, but you sure as hell thought it." She shifted to her knees and clenched her hands into fists. "You really think things would be better if I were still human?"

He snapped, spinning around and glaring at her. "For one thing, you might listen to what I say once in a while!"

"You and I _obviously _remember our years together differently. You want to know what really wouldn't happened if I'd never changed, Doctor?"

He threw his hands up in the air. "_What?!_"

"I'd be dead." He froze and she continued, her eyes nearly spitting sparks as her hands subconsciously caressed her stomach. "That late July night in Pete's world, I'd have never healed up from that crash." She snorted. "'Course, you don't know about that, do you? 'S not like you ever asked. Drunk driver an' a late night with my friends. I was callin' a taxi when he hit me. So you want me to still be human? That's what I'd be. A broken corpse on a sidewalk. You try and tell me that's _better_ than this."

"I... I never knew."

"No, 'cause you never asked!"

"You never _offered!_" He took a deep breath, lowering his voice from the shout that echoed through the room. "Do not ever think that I don't want you with me. But, what you had in Pete's World... you've missed it so much." He raised his hand as she opened her mouth. "Don't say you haven't, I know you have. I miss your mum, too, and _that's_ saying something. You had a family, and you had a life, and then you came back here and all you have is pain and fear, and it's _never going to end_."

"That's not all I have here, you idiot! And that's not all you have, either! I have adventure, and I have friendship, and we have this weird, disjointed family together, and most of all I have _you_." She leaned forward and grabbed his face, forcing him to meet her eyes. "And that's enough for me. Don't you get it? That's always been enough for me. So no matter how many times you try to send me away, I'm always gonna come right back to you, because this is where I belong. This is my life. This is my family. And _you_ are my home."

He shook his head helplessly. "You deserve better, Rose."

"Yeah, well, I don't want it." She opened her mind to him, flooding him with the love that grew with his every smile, and batted aside the frustrated defenses he tried to set up. "I just want you, an' this baby, an' all the life that we're gonna have together. 'Cause we _are_ gonna have it." She smiled crookedly up at him. "I'm not going to let anyone get in our way."

He groaned and pressed his lips against hers, and she smiled against his kiss and closed her eyes. They still had a long way to go, but they were together, and that was enough.

For now.

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	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: And it's done! Wow, it's a relief to have this finished. Thank you SO much to all the people who've read and reviewed. You make this worthwhile.**

Chapter 24: Epilogue

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The baby stared up out of the worn wooden crib at the glowing night sky of the nursery, its bright blue eyes far wiser than any infant's had a right to be.

Sarah Jacqueline Tyler was not impressed. "Mum said I would have a new playmate. He just... lies there. And he stinks."

Jenny smirked and scooped the baby up, depositing him in the 67th century changing tube she and River had bought for the TARDIS when Sarah was born. "There. Now he doesn't stink anymore." She picked up baby Ian and turned around, raising her eyebrows at Sarah, who was now perched on top of the play cabinet. "What have your parents told you about climbing on things?"

"To always makes sure I have a good grip."

"_Other_ than that?"

The little girl pouted, slumping against the wall and crossing her arms. "To not do it on the furniture."

Jenny arched an eyebrow at her little sister. "Exactly."

Sarah sighed dramatically and clambered back down to the floor. "When are Mum and Dad getting back?"

"Just as soon as they depose the latest tyrant."

The tiny brunette crinkled her nose, which the Doctor had proclaimed just like Rose's (much to his secret relief). "But that's _boring_. They're always doing that."

Jenny grinned and winked at Sarah. "It's not so boring when you're in the middle of it, sweetie."

"So why can't I go along?"

A new voice interrupted, heavy with amusement. "Not 'till your time senses develop. You know that."

Jenny turned, cuddling her little brother, and Sarah lit up. "Mummy!"

Rose stood in the doorway, her smile as bright as the sun rising. "Hello, loves." She crouched down to Sarah's level and opened her arms, laughing as her daughter launched herself into them. "Have you been good for your sister?"

The four-year-old leaned back and widened her eyes, and Rose smiled at how like her father she looked when she pulled the puppy dog eyes. "Of course I was."

Rose arched an eyebrow. "Of course you were." She glanced up at Jenny, who was biting back a grin. "How was she?"

Sarah sighed loudly. "I just _said._"

"Yes, dear heart, and I'm getting a second opinion."

Jenny chuckled and settled Ian into his crib before crossing her arms, her eyebrows arched. "Next time, I get to take out the tyrant."

Rose sighed. "You know how your father is about you being around guns."

"Yes, and it's ridiculous. That was _years_ ago."

"For you, maybe. But he's still not used to anything good staying."

Jenny snorted. "Well, he'd better get used to it, 'cause I'm not leaving."

Rose laughed and set Sarah down, giving her a quick kiss on the head before smoothing down her tangled hair. She had definitely inherited _that_ from her father. "I think River might get a little tired of living with the in-laws."

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do." The Doctor swung into the doorway, clapping his hands together when he saw the baby wasn't sleeping.

"Right! We're back into the Vortex—it was a nice chrono-trap they tried to set up, but I've been taking those things apart since I was in school." He swept Sarah up in his arms and laughed as she giggled, and Rose smiled gently at them.

"It just takes time."

FINIS

ΘΣ


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